The Simla Cubs will challenge the McClave Cardinals at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Simla is returning to their home court after beating Evangel Christian Academy on theirs, despite the fact Evangel Christian Academy has dominated at home this season. Simla walked away with a 62-54 win over Evangel Christian Academy on Thursday. The victory continues a trend for the Cubs in their matchups with the Eagles: they've now won four in a row.
Anna Kerst
| 02/13/25 @ Evangel Christian Academy | 56% |
| 02/08/25 vs Salida | 45% |
| 02/04/25 @ Kiowa | 88% |
| 02/01/25 @ Merino | 67% |
| 01/28/25 @ Limon | 69% |
Simla's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Anna Kerst led the charge by going 9-for-16 to rack up 18 points and seven boards. Kerst is also on a roll when it comes to shooting accuracy, as she's posted one of at least 45% in the last five games she's played. Carlee Cox was another key player, going 6-for-10 on her way to 12 points along with six assists and five rebounds.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask McClave). They took their match on Friday with ease, bagging a 78-23 win over Kit Carson. The Cardinals have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 13 games by 28 points or more this season.
Simla better keep an eye on Abrielle Gomez. She was instrumental in McClave's win, going 5-for-11 en route to 13 points in addition to six boards and six steals. Another player making a difference was Addison Vallejos, who posted 11 points and three steals.
McClave smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 18 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive rebounds in nine consecutive contests.
McClave pushed their record up to 17-1 with the victory, which was their fourth straight on the road. Those victories came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 22.8 points over those games. As for Simla, their win bumped their record up to 12-4.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as Simla and McClave are some of the highest-scoring teams around. Simla hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 62.5 points per game. However, it's not like McClave struggles in that department as they've been averaging 60.8 points. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can put up more.
Simla opened the new year with a less-than-successful 51-39 defeat to McClave. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Gomez, who went 7-for-17 to rack up 22 points and five rebounds. Now that Simla knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
