Basketball Recap: Atlantic Christian Takes a Tough Playoff Loss

It's hard to turn regular season success into postseason wins, a fact Atlantic Christian can now relate to. They fell just short of the Pine Knights by a score of 42-39 on Saturday. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest defeat the Sharks have suffered since December 8, 2023.

Destiny Martinez

Points

02/08/25 vs Pine	19
02/06/25 vs Lake Worth Christian	19
01/31/25 vs Sports Leadership & Management	23

Several Sharks players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Destiny Martinez, who posted 19 points. The match was Martinez's third in a row with at least 19 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Jaidah Chase, who had 14 points.

Pine was led to victory by Emily Shirk and Roxie Hesler. Shirk dropped a double-double with 16 points and 18 rebounds, while Hesler earned eight points. Shirk has been hot for a while, having posted eight or more boards the last nine times she's played. Genevieve Waters also deserves some recognition as she posted her first assist of the season.

Atlantic Christian's loss dropped their record down to 19-8. As for Pine, the win was the third in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 16-4.

The two teams are set to take part in some playoff action in their next matches. Atlantic Christian will square off against Schoolhouse Prep at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Schoolhouse Prep is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 59.6 points per game this season. As for Pine, they will take on Hebrew Academy at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Hebrew Academy will roll in looking for their eighth straight victory, something Pine surely won't give up without a fight.