Basketball Game Preview: Augusta Christian Lions vs. Heathwood Hall Episcopal Highlanders

The Augusta Christian Lions will head out on the road to face off against the Heathwood Hall Episcopal Highlanders at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday.

Augusta Christian came up short against Northside Christian Academy last Monday, falling 55-33. While losing is never fun, the Lions can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 98th in Georgia, while the Crusaders are ranked 35th in South Carolina).

Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the best came from Avery Schwarz, who posted 11 points. Kennedy Cooper was another key player, putting up nine points.

Meanwhile, Heathwood Hall Episcopal entered their tilt with Ben Lippen on Friday with five consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with six. Everything went their way against the Falcons as they made off with a 65-39 victory. The Highlanders pushed the score to 46-25 by the end of the third, a deficit the Falcons had little chance of recovering from.

Augusta Christian better keep an eye on Lauren Jacobs. She was instrumental in Heathwood Hall Episcopal's win, almost dropping a double-double on 39 points and nine rebounds. Jacobs' evening made it eight games in a row in which she has scored at least ten points. Another player making a difference was SaBreya Monsanto, who dropped a double-double on 15 points and ten boards.

Heathwood Hall Episcopal smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 18 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive rebounds in 27 consecutive contests dating back to last season.

Augusta Christian now has a losing record at 11-12. As for Heathwood Hall Episcopal, their win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 9-3.

Augusta Christian was taken down by Heathwood Hall Episcopal 76-31 in their previous matchup two weeks ago. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Jacobs, who went 13 for 22 en route to 32 points in addition to seven steals and six rebounds. Now that Augusta Christian knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.