Canterbury is 1-6 against the Barons since November of 2015 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. Having just played yesterday, the Canterbury Crusaders will get right back to it and host the St. Petersburg Catholic Barons at 6:00 p.m. on February 2nd. Both teams come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
On Thursday, even if it wasn't a dominant performance, Canterbury beat the 45-40.
Canterbury's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was MacKenzie Tucker, who scored 16 points along with five steals. That makes it three consecutive games in which Tucker has scored at least a third of Canterbury's points. Another player making a difference was Zy'nasia Alhuzaifi, who scored six points along with 19 rebounds and three blocks.
Meanwhile, a well-balanced attack led St. Petersburg Catholic over the Mustangs in every quarter on their way to victory on Tuesday. St. Petersburg Catholic took down the Mustangs 44-26.
St. Petersburg Catholic's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Kate Miller, who scored 12 points along with four steals. Miller is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in the last four games she's played. Elise Graham was another key contributor, scoring nine points along with seven rebounds and six steals.
Canterbury has been performing well recently as they've won seven of their last nine contests, which provided a nice bump to their 9-8 record this season. As for St. Petersburg Catholic, they pushed their record up to 13-11 with that victory, which was their fourth straight at home.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Canterbury haven't given up the ball easily this season, having only averaged 8.9 turnovers per game. However, it's not like St. Petersburg Catholic struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 0.1 turnovers per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Canterbury came up short against the Barons in their previous meeting back in January of 2023, falling 45-33. Can Canterbury avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
