El Dorado Christian is 2-8 against Heartland since December of 2015 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The El Dorado Christian Buffalos are on the road again and play against the Heartland Mustangs at 6:00 p.m. on December 8th. El Dorado Christian will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Missouri Rankings (they are ranked 251st, while Heartland is ranked 119th).
Last Friday, El Dorado Christian was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap as they fell 34-29 to Overland Christian.
Despite the defeat, El Dorado Christian had strong showings from McKenzie Cole, who scored 7 points along with 5 assists and 5 rebounds, and Cassie Johnson, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and 17 rebounds.
Meanwhile, Heartland waltzed into Tuesday's game with three straight wins but they left with four. They snuck past Overland Christian with a 38-32 win.
Esther Archibald was her usual excellent self, dropping a double-double on 18 points and 10 steals. The matchup was her fourth in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Kalei Hallam, who scored 11 points along with 7 rebounds.
The last time El Dorado Christian won on the road was back last Thursday. Having now lost three straight away matchups, they've bumped their record down to 1-3. That rough patch could be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they only averaged 23.3 points per game. As for Heartland, their win bumped their record up to 4-1.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: El Dorado Christian have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 33.8 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Heartland struggles in that department as they've been even better at 34.8 per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out. Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other basketball content.
El Dorado Christian lost to Heartland on the road by a decisive 46-27 margin in their previous meeting back in January. Can El Dorado Christian avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
