The Phalen Leadership Academy Falcon's road trip will continue as they head out to face the Indianapolis Shortridge Blue Devils at 7:30 p.m. on February 14th. Indianapolis Shortridge took a loss in their last match and will be looking to turn the tables on Phalen Leadership Academy, who comes in off a win.
Last Wednesday, Phalen Leadership Academy was able to grind out a solid win over MTI School of Knowledge, taking the game 47-40.
Phalen Leadership Academy used a three-pronged attack on offense:
Donovan Evans,
La'Ron Suggs, and
Raymond Haggard posted no points each.
Meanwhile, Indianapolis Shortridge pushed their score all the way to 56 on Thursday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They fell 67-56 to Purdue Polytechnic. The defeat unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Indianapolis Shortridge in their matchups with Purdue Polytechnic: they've now lost three in a row.
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Jalen Yates, who scored 13 points along with six rebounds and two steals. Julian DeFrantz was another key contributor, scoring 16 points along with five rebounds and two steals.
Even though they lost, Indianapolis Shortridge were working as a unit and finished the game with 13 assists. This was only their 12th loss (out of 15 games) when they've passed the ball that well.
Phalen Leadership Academy has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven games, which provided a nice bump to their 13-9 record this season. As for Indianapolis Shortridge, their loss dropped their record down to 4-19.
Wednesday's matchup is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Phalen Leadership Academy have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 22.9 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Indianapolis Shortridge struggles in that department as they've been averaging 30 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Phalen Leadership Academy won a match that couldn't have been any closer in their previous meeting back in December of 2023, slipping by Indianapolis Shortridge 67-66. Does Phalen Leadership Academy have another victory up their sleeve, or will Indianapolis Shortridge turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
