The Evangelical Christian Sentinels will take on the Palmetto Ridge Bears in a tournament on Thursday. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with Evangelical Christian sitting on four straight victories and Palmetto Ridge on five.
Last Friday, Evangelical Christian made easy work of Bishop Verot and carried off a 55-34 win. The Sentinels have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won four matches by 21 points or more this season.
| 12/20/24 @ Bishop Verot | 3 |
| 12/17/24 vs Gateway | 8 |
| 12/13/24 @ Canterbury | 3 |
Evangelical Christian got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Nalah Smith out in front who dropped a double-double on 16 points and ten boards. Smith has been hot recently, having also posted three or more steals the last three times she's played. Kellisia Grant was another key player, going 6 for 13 on her way to 17 points.
Evangelical Christian smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 17 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in 17 consecutive contests dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, Palmetto Ridge hadn't done well against Barron Collier recently (they were 0-9 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way last Friday. Palmetto Ridge walked away with a 44-37 win over Barron Collier.
Palmetto Ridge's win came from a few key players Evangelical Christian will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Hanna Valdes, who posted nine points. The team also got some help courtesy of Melina Hemenway, who put up ten points.
Palmetto Ridge's victory was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 7-3. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 59.7 points per game. As for Evangelical Christian, they have been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six games, which provided a nice bump to their 7-3 record this season.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Evangelical Christian has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 30.2 boards per game. However, it's not like Palmetto Ridge struggles in that department as they've been averaging 28.7 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Evangelical Christian was able to grind out a solid win over Palmetto Ridge in their previous meeting back in January of 2020, winning 49-42. Will Evangelical Christian repeat their success, or does Palmetto Ridge have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
