The Cardinal Gibbons Crusaders waltzed into their match on Friday with four straight wins but they left with five. They took down Athens Drive 42-28. That result was just more of the same for these two, as Cardinal Gibbons also won the last time the pair played back in December of 2023.
Cardinal Gibbons found their leader in underclassman Charlotte Fusco, who scored 11 points along with six rebounds and five steals. Fusco hasn't dropped below two steals for five straight games. Another player making a difference was Kathryn Vanburik, who scored seven points along with two steals.
Several Jaguars players turned in solid performances, despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Quincie Toran, who scored ten points along with nine rebounds. Makenzie Kelly was another key contributor, scoring nine points.
Cardinal Gibbons' victory was their fifth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 11-7. As for Athens Drive, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 6-11.
Cardinal Gibbons will head out on the road to challenge Sanderson at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Sanderson will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps North Carolina Rankings (they are ranked 477th, while Cardinal Gibbons is ranked 150th). As for Athens Drive, they will be playing in front of their home fans against Broughton at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. That game will pit two of the most dominant against one another: Kalajah Wright and Kelly.
