The Denbigh Baptist Christian Minutemen will be playing at home against the Portsmouth Christian Patriots at 5:30 p.m. on Monday. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last game, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this matchup.
Denbigh Baptist Christian's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Friday after their third straight loss. They fell 47-35 to Hampton Christian Academy. While losing is never fun, Denbigh Baptist Christian can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Virginia basketball rankings (they are ranked 292nd, while Hampton Christian Academy is ranked 90th).
Denbigh Baptist Christian might have lost, but man, Payten Gary was a machine: she scored 16 points along with five rebounds and two steals. Another player making a difference was Rylee Stewart, who scored four points along with four steals.
Meanwhile, Portsmouth Christian struggled with threes on Thursday (Richmond Christian had seven more) and sadly the final score reflected it. Portsmouth Christian's tough 58-35 defeat to Richmond Christian might stick with them for a while. Portsmouth Christian was in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 41-17.
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the best came from Cloee Comberiati, who dropped a double-double on 17 points and 14 rebounds. It was the first time this season that she scored 15 or more points. The team also got some help courtesy of Delani Nash, who scored eight points along with six rebounds.
Denbigh Baptist Christian has been struggling recently as they've lost six of their last eight matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 9-10 record this season. As for Portsmouth Christian, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 3-16.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Denbigh Baptist Christian have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 26.8 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Portsmouth Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging 30.9 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Denbigh Baptist Christian didn't have too much breathing room in their matchup against Portsmouth Christian in their previous matchup back in January, but they still walked away with a 27-22 win. Does Denbigh Baptist Christian have another victory up their sleeve, or will Portsmouth Christian turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
