The St. James Academy Thunder will face off against the Bishop Miege Stags at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. St. James Academy will be looking to extend their current nine-game winning streak.
St. James Academy is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Kansas' top teams: Saint Thomas Aquinas, who was ranked 22nd at the time (St. James Academy was ranked fourth). St. James Academy snuck past Saint Thomas Aquinas with a 54-48 win on Friday.
Regan Becker
| 02/14/25 vs Saint Thomas Aquinas | 8 |
| 02/11/25 @ Blue Valley West | 11 |
| 02/05/25 @ St. Teresa's Academy | 8 |
St. James Academy's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Regan Becker, who went 5-for-10 to rack up 14 points and eight rebounds. Becker has been hot recently, having posted eight or more boards the last three times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Elle Robinson, who went 5-for-6 en route to 12 points and three steals.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Bishop Miege). They blew past Blue Valley West 76-20 on Tuesday. The Stags have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won eight matchups by 20 points or more this season.
St. James Academy better focus on containing Mary Grant and Jayla McClinton as the pair were huge in Bishop Miege's win. Grant went 8-for-15 on her way to 21 points in addition to six assists and six rebounds, while McClinton went 8-for-10 to rack up 17 points and six boards. That's the most assists Grant has posted since back in February of 2024. Kirston Verhulst was another key player, putting up ten points and five assists.
Bishop Miege was working as a unit and finished the game with 26 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.
St. James Academy's victory was their eighth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 14-2. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 62.4 points over those games. As for Bishop Miege, they are on a roll lately: they've won nine of their last 11 games. That's provided a nice bump to their 12-4 record this season.
Keep an eye on the arc in Friday's contest: St. James Academy has been dynamite from deep this season, having made 37.3% of their three-pointers per game. It's a different story for Bishop Miege, though, as they've only made 26% of their threes this season. Given St. James Academy's sizable advantage in that area, Bishop Miege will need to find a way to close that gap.
St. James Academy won a match that couldn't have been any closer in their previous matchup back in January, slipping by Bishop Miege 48-47. The rematch might be a little tougher for St. James Academy since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
