The St. John Lutheran Saints waltzed into their game Thursday with five straight wins but they left with six. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 36-33 win over Hernando Christian Academy. This was payback for St. John Lutheran, who suffered a 51-27 defeat the last time these two teams met.
St. John Lutheran was led to victory by Arisa Ford and Gracie Sue Rice. Ford dropped a double-double on ten points and 13 rebounds, while Rice scored 21 points along with seven steals and five rebounds. The matchup was Rice's fourth in a row with at least ten points. Audrey Goodson was another key contributor, scoring no points along with seven rebounds and three steals.
Despite the loss, Hernando Christian Academy still got an impressive performance from Emma Hendricks, who scored eight points along with three steals. Hendricks has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last four times she's played. Another player making a difference was Briauna Richardson, who scored four points along with eight rebounds.
St. John Lutheran has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won eight of their last nine matches, which provided a nice bump to their 8-4 record this season. As for Hernando Christian Academy, their loss dropped their record down to 5-7-1.
Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. St. John Lutheran will take on First Academy at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Hernando Christian Academy won't have much time to rest: their next matchup is against Northside Christian at 6:30 p.m. on January 12th.
