St. Paul Lutheran is 8-2 against Crystal City since January of 2017 and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Thursday. The St. Paul Lutheran Giants will square off against the Crystal City Hornets at 6:00 p.m. St. Paul Lutheran is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 51.3 points per game this season.
St. Paul Lutheran is probably headed into the match with a chip on their shoulder considering Arcadia Valley just ended the team's three-game winning streak on Tuesday. They lost to the Tigers at home by a 61-43 margin.
| 01/21/25 vs Arcadia Valley | 10 |
| 01/20/25 vs Valley | 9 |
| 01/13/25 @ Bayless | 12 |
| 01/09/25 vs Meadow Heights | 10 |
| 12/31/24 vs North County | 14 |
The losing side was boosted by Brooklyn Weibrecht, who dropped a double-double on 14 points and ten rebounds. She is on a roll when it comes to boards, as she's now pulled down nine or more in the last eight games she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Julie Lunsford, who went 5 of 11 on her way to 12 points.
Even though they lost, St. Paul Lutheran smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 11 offensive rebounds in six consecutive games.
Meanwhile, after a string of four wins, Crystal City's good fortune finally ran out on Tuesday. They took a 66-59 hit to the loss column at the hands of Oak Ridge.
St. Paul Lutheran will have to keep a close watch on Addison Bova and Molly Reiter, a pair of players who had a big impact on Crystal City's prior game. Bova went 11 for 21 en route to 33 points, while Reiter went 8 of 19 on her way to 22 points.
St. Paul Lutheran's loss dropped their record down to 9-5. As for Crystal City, their defeat dropped their record down to 8-7.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: St. Paul Lutheran has been crashing the rebounds this season, having averaged 37 boards per game. However, it's not like Crystal City struggles in that department as they've been averaging 27.1 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Everything came up roses for St. Paul Lutheran against Crystal City in their previous matchup back in December of 2024, as the team secured a 65-34 win. Will St. Paul Lutheran repeat their success, or does Crystal City have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.