Basketball Game Preview: Pipestem Christian Academy Panthers vs. Summit Christian Academy Falcons

The Pipestem Christian Academy Panthers will venture away from home to take on the Summit Christian Academy Falcons at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. The teams are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Pipestem Christian Academy has struggled recently with six defeats in a row, while Summit Christian Academy will arrive with three straight victories.

Pipestem Christian Academy is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They lost 55-31 to Greater Beckley Christian on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, you can't lose the game if you win every quarter, and that was precisely Summit Christian Academy's strategy against Victory Baptist Academy on Monday. Summit Christian Academy was the clear victor by a 59-33 margin over Victory Baptist Academy. The Falcons have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won five matchups by 26 points or more this season.

Summit Christian Academy's win came from a few key players Pipestem Christian Academy will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Ella Botts, who dropped a double-double on 17 points and 12 steals. Her evening made it 11 games in a row in which she has scored at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Abby Greer, who went 9 of 17 en route to 20 points.

Summit Christian Academy smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with ten offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in seven consecutive games.

Summit Christian Academy has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six contests, which provided a nice bump to their 8-3 record this season. As for Pipestem Christian Academy, their loss dropped their record down to 0-6.

Pipestem Christian Academy was taken down by Summit Christian Academy 73-18 in their previous matchup back in December of 2024. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Botts, who dropped a double-double on 20 points and 13 steals. Now that Pipestem Christian Academy knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.