Basketball Game Preview: Spruce Creek Hawks vs. Central Florida Christian Academy Eagles

It'll be Battle of the Birds when the Spruce Creek Hawks take on the Central Florida Christian Academy Eagles at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday... Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, both will really light up the scoreboard.

Spruce Creek is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They simply couldn't be stopped on Tuesday as they easily beat Mainland 69-34. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest win the Hawks have posted against the Buccaneers since January 26, 2019.

Spruce Creek found their leader in sophomore Lillian Sanchez, who posted 19 points along with six steals and five boards. Sanchez is crushing it when it comes to steals: she's grabbed at least three every time she's taken the court this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Rhianna Hayes, who had five points in addition to six boards and four steals.

Meanwhile, Central Florida Christian Academy had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 11 points) and they went ahead and made it four on Tuesday. They strolled past the Warriors with points to spare, taking the game 59-42. Given the Eagles' advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 34th, while the Warriors are ranked 391st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Central Florida Christian Academy is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six games, which provided a nice bump to their 8-2 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 59.5 points per game. As for Spruce Creek, their victory was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 5-3.

Spruce Creek couldn't quite finish off Central Florida Christian Academy when the teams last played back in January and fell 50-48. Thankfully for Spruce Creek, Trinity Harden (who went 7 of 12 on her way to 19 points and eight rebounds) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.