The Crossroads Christian Colts will look to defend their home court on Friday against the Carolina M Mustangs at 6:00 p.m. Crossroads Christian will be looking to extend their current four-game winning streak.
Winning is just a little bit easier when you outrebound your opponent 24 to 11 on the offensive boards, a fact Crossroads Christian proved on Friday. They strolled past Cape Fear Christian Academy with points to spare, taking the game 52-36. Given Crossroads Christian's advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 147th, while the Eagles are ranked 385th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
It was another big night for Elyssa Phillps, who scored 22 points along with seven rebounds and five assists. That makes it three consecutive games in which she has scored at least a third of Crossroads Christian's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Mattie Grissom, who dropped a double-double on ten points and 12 rebounds.
Meanwhile, Carolina M stacked a sixth blowout win onto their ever-increasing hoard on Tuesday. They claimed a resounding 54-13 win over Cristo Rey Research Triangle at home. The matchup was all but wrapped up at the end of the third, by which point Carolina M had established a 27 point advantage.
Carolina M's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Rivkah Lloyd, who almost dropped a double-double on ten points and nine steals, and Eliana Mah, who scored 20 points along with five rebounds and five steals. Lloyd hasn't dropped below four steals for six straight games. Another player making a difference was Abigail Faison, who scored 12 points along with seven rebounds and two steals.
Crossroads Christian's victory bumped their record up to 12-4. As for Carolina M, their victory was their 14th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 10-4.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Crossroads Christian have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 32.3 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Carolina M struggles in that department as they've been averaging 29.6 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Crossroads Christian took their win against the Mustangs in their previous meeting last Tuesday by a conclusive 61-36. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Faison, who scored 17 points along with six rebounds. Now that she's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Crossroads Christian still be able to contain Faison? There's only one way to find out.
