The Trinity Catholic Celtics will square off against the Central Florida Christian Academy Eagles at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Trinity Catholic took a loss when they played away from home on Saturday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Tuesday. They strolled past Victory Christian Academy with points to spare, taking the game 58-43. Given the Celtics' advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 66th, while the Storm are ranked 230th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
The match pitted two dominant guards against one another in Ja'Niya Corbin and Bianca Barroso. Corbin had a solid game and posted 18 points along with six rebounds and five steals. Meanwhile, Barroso did her best for the losing side, going 7 of 14 en route to 18 points in addition to eight boards and three steals.
Meanwhile, it was a Battle of the Birds when Central Florida Christian Academy faced off against Lake Minneola on Tuesday. Central Florida Christian Academy simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Lake Minneola 65-25. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Eagles.
Central Florida Christian Academy's win came from a few key players Trinity Catholic will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Soraya Jokhan, who went 5 for 11 on her way to 15 points and six rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Ariel Edri, who went 5 of 11 en route to 10 points and seven boards.
Central Florida Christian Academy smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive rebounds in four consecutive matchups.
Trinity Catholic's victory was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 12-7. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 55.8 points per game. As for Central Florida Christian Academy, they are on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five contests, which provided a nice bump to their 15-5 record this season.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Trinity Catholic has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 33.9 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Central Florida Christian Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 28.7 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Trinity Catholic lost to Central Florida Christian Academy on the road by a decisive 54-36 margin when the teams last played back in December of 2022. Can Trinity Catholic avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
