Leadership Academy is 9-1 against Cornerstone Charter since November of 2018, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Wednesday. The Leadership Academy Falcons will head out on the road to face off against the Cornerstone Charter Cardinals at 5:30 p.m. Cornerstone Charter took a loss in their last game and will be looking to turn the tables on Leadership Academy, who comes in off a win.
Leadership Academy posted their biggest victory yet this season on Wednesday. They blew past North Forsyth 57-24 on the road. Given Leadership Academy's advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 247th, while North Forsyth is ranked 516th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Ali Faenza and Emmy Guldberg were among the main playmakers for Leadership Academy as the former scored 24 points and the latter dropped a double-double on 22 points and ten rebounds. Faenza continues to roll, besting her previous point total in each of the last three games she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Brooke Swigert, who scored ten points along with two steals.
Meanwhile, Cornerstone Charter was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap on Thursday as they fell 34-30 to Bethany. Cornerstone Charter has not had much luck with Bethany recently, as the team's come up short the last three times they've met.
Cornerstone Charter's loss came about despite a quality game from Kaylen Williamson, who dropped a double-double on 14 points and 15 rebounds. That was a full 46.7% of Cornerstone Charter's points, marking the 11th time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points. Another player making a difference was Kamryn Stephens, who scored four points along with 12 rebounds and two steals.
Even though they lost, Cornerstone Charter smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 16 offensive rebounds. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Bethany only pulled down six offensive rebounds.
The win was the third in a row for Leadership Academy, bringing their record for this year to 10-4. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 55.7 points per game. As for Cornerstone Charter, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-11.
Keep an eye on the arc in Wednesday's matchup: Leadership Academy have been dynamite from deep this season, having only made 31.4% of their threes per game. It's a different story for Cornerstone Charter, though, as they've only made 23.6% of their threes per game this season. Given Leadership Academy's sizeable advantage in that area, Cornerstone Charter will need to find a way to close that gap.
Leadership Academy strolled past Cornerstone Charter when the teams last played back in December of 2023 by a score of 49-30. The rematch might be a little tougher for Leadership 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.
