Two dominant forwards in Nicole Carreno and Kali Barrett are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Seffner Christian Crusaders are on the road again on Wednesday and plays the Cardinal Mooney Cougars at 1:00 p.m. on February 28th. Both teams come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Seffner Christian had already proven themselves in the regular season, and didn't miss a beat now that it's playoff time. They managed a 47-42 win over King's Academy on Thursday. That's two games straight that Seffner Christian has won by exactly five points.
Seffner Christian's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Jade Thompson, who scored 17 points along with five rebounds and two steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Carreno, who almost dropped a double-double on 12 points and nine rebounds.
Meanwhile, Cardinal Mooney came tearing into Thursday's contest with 12 straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 19.3 points) and they left with even more momentum. They were the clear victor by a 64-40 margin over Tampa Catholic.
Madi Mignery and Barrett were among the main playmakers for Cardinal Mooney as the former dropped a double-double on 12 points and ten rebounds and the latter dropped a double-double on 27 points and 11 rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Barrett has scored all season. Another player making a difference was Bri Behn, who scored seven points.
Seffner Christian has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won nine of their last ten games, which provided a nice bump to their 25-4 record this season. As for Cardinal Mooney, their win bumped their record up to 21-6.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Seffner Christian have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 27.6 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Cardinal Mooney struggles in that department as they've been averaging 34.5 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Seffner Christian ended up a good deal behind Cardinal Mooney when the teams last played back in January, losing 71-57. Can Seffner Christian avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
