The Leesville Road Pride typically have all the answers at home, but on Friday the Cardinal Gibbons Crusaders proved too difficult a challenge. They came out on top in a nail-biter against the Pride and snuck past 36-34. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory Cardinal Gibbons has posted yet this season.
Cardinal Gibbons found their leader in underclassman Tessa Gladieux, who dropped a double-double on 13 points and 11 rebounds. Gladieux has been hot recently, having posted two or more blocks the last four times she's played. Another player making a difference was Sarah Maciariello, who scored six points.
Leesville Road's loss came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Motunrayo Balogun, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and 15 rebounds. Finley Lewis was another key contributor, scoring nine points along with eight rebounds and two steals.
Cardinal Gibbons' win was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 9-7. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 51.0 points per game. As for Leesville Road, they have been struggling recently, as they've lost three of their last four games, which put a noticeable dent in their 8-3 record this season.
Cardinal Gibbons will look to defend their home court on Tuesday against Broughton at 6:30 p.m. Hopefully Broughton focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 22 on Friday. As for Leesville Road, they will head out on the road to take on Athens Drive at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Athens Drive will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps North Carolina Rankings (they are ranked 280th, while Leesville Road is ranked 90th).
