The Morning Star Academy Mustangs will head out on the road to square off against the Unity Christian Knights at 5:00 p.m. on Friday.
Morning Star Academy's game two weeks ago was all tied up 19-19 at the half, but sadly for them it didn't stay that way. They received a tough blow as they fell 45-27 to Galesburg Christian. Morning Star Academy has now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Allison Ammann, who scored 12 points. Violet Jewell was another key contributor, scoring four points along with seven rebounds.
Unity Christian posted their biggest victory yet this season on Thursday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Tri-State Christian 41-8 on the road.
Unity Christian's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Emily Merema led the charge by scoring six points along with eight assists and eight rebounds. That's the first time this season that Merema posted eight or more assists. Another player making a difference was Maddy Wilbur, who scored 13 points along with seven rebounds and five steals.
Morning Star Academy has been struggling recently, as they've lost three of their last four matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 5-9 record this season. As for Unity Christian, their win bumped their record up to 3-8.
Friday's game is shaping up to be a scrappy matchup: Morning Star Academy have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 22.1 rebounds per game. It's a different story for Unity Christian, though, as they've been averaging only 20.3 rebounds per game. Given Morning Star Academy's sizeable advantage in that area, Unity Christian will need to find a way to close that gap.
Morning Star Academy beat Unity Christian 29-18 when the teams last played back in November of 2023. The rematch might be a little tougher for Morning Star 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.
