Merced has enjoyed the comforts of home their last three games, but now they'll head out on the road. They will face off against the Christian Brothers Falcons at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
You can't lose the match if you win every quarter, and that was precisely Merced's strategy against Buhach Colony on Thursday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Merced blew Buhach Colony out of the water with a 65-16 final score. The game was all but wrapped up at the end of the third, by which point Merced had established a 46 point advantage.
Merced's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Averie Steverson, who scored 14 points along with six rebounds and five steals. Steverson has been hot recently, having posted two or more blocks the last eight times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Jada Davis, who scored 15 points along with five steals.
Meanwhile, winning is just a little bit easier when you outrebound your opponent 14 to 7 on the offensive boards, a fact Christian Brothers proved on Wednesday. They breezed by El Camino at home to the tune of 57-29. Given Christian Brothers' advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 122nd, while El Camino is ranked 562nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Christian Brothers found their leader in underclassman Joy Omishakin, who dropped a double-double on 15 points and ten steals. Aleyah Harmon was another key contributor, scoring nine points along with seven assists and four steals.
Merced's win ended a four-game drought at home and bumped them up to 16-12. As for Christian Brothers, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 16 of their last 18 matches, which provided a nice bump to their 22-6 record this season.
Wednesday's contest is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Merced have been dynamite from deep this season, having made 46.9% of their threes per game. However, it's not like Christian Brothers struggles in that department as they've made 39% of their threes this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Merced lost to Christian Brothers on the road by a decisive 50-33 margin in their previous matchup back in February of 2020. Can Merced avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
