Air Academy has enjoyed the comforts of home their last six games, but now they'll head out on the road. They will square off against the Lutheran Lions at 7:00 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 Air Academy's strategy against Mesa Ridge on Saturday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Air Academy blew Mesa Ridge out of the water with a 82-29 final score. The contest was all but wrapped up at the end of the third, by which point Air Academy had established a 40 point advantage.
Air Academy's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Lydia Flowers led the charge by scoring 26 points along with seven assists and seven steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Caitlin Kramer, who scored 25 points along with two steals.
Meanwhile, Lutheran entered their tilt with Lewis-Palmer with four consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with five. Lutheran really took it to Lewis-Palmer for the full four quarters, racking up a 56-29 victory at home. The match was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 42-11.
Lutheran found their leader in underclassman Berkley Schneider, who dropped a double-double on 13 points and 14 rebounds. Another player making a difference was Mikaela-zoe Colon, who scored eight points along with nine rebounds.
Air Academy's victory was their 15th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 20-1. As for Lutheran, they have been performing well recently as they've won seven of their last nine contests, which provided a nice bump to their 13-9 record this season.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Air Academy have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 32.4 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Lutheran struggles in that department as they've been averaging 29 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Everything came up roses for Air Academy against Lutheran in their previous meeting back in January as the team secured a 76-41 victory. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Schneider, who scored 17 points along with six steals. Now that she's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Air Academy still be able to contain Schneider? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
