If the Crooms Academy Panthers were feeling good off their 51-5 takedown of the Holy Cross Lutheran Academy Crusaders last Tuesday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. Crooms Academy was dealt a 59-27 loss at the hands of First Academy on Monday. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest loss Crooms Academy has suffered since December 11, 2023.
Crooms Academy lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Erin Hassaballah, who scored 11 points. That was a full 40.7% of Crooms Academy's points, marking the fourth time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points. Zoe Fulgencio was another key contributor, scoring nine points.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead First Academy to victory, but perhaps none more so than Ashlyn Neiford, who scored 12 points along with nine rebounds and four steals. That's the first time this season that Neiford pulled down eight or more rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Molly Beliveau, who dropped a double-double on 11 points and 13 rebounds.
Crooms Academy's defeat was their eighth straight at home dating back to last season, which dropped their record down to 1-12. As for First Academy, the victory (which was their third in a row) raised their record to 9-8.
Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Crooms Academy won't have much time to rest: their next matchup is against Liberty Christian at 4:00 p.m. on January 30th. As for First Academy, they won't have much time to rest: their next match is against Oasis Christian at 6:00 p.m. on January 30th. Hopefully Oasis Christian focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 12 on Monday.
