The Archbishop Spalding Cavaliers's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Wednesday after their seventh straight loss. They were beaten by St. Frances Academy 69-30. While losing is never fun, Archbishop Spalding can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Maryland basketball rankings (they are ranked 64th, while St. Frances Academy is ranked 12th).
When it comes to explaining why Archbishop Spalding lost, one person who can't be blamed is Whitley Watkins. Despite the final result, she scored 12 points along with eight rebounds. That was a full 40% of Archbishop Spalding's points, marking the third time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points. Eyan Bailey was another key contributor, scoring four points along with six rebounds.
St. Frances Academy's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Zoe Osby led the charge by dropping a double-double on 19 points and 11 rebounds. Another player making a difference was Dahni Suggs, who scored 11 points along with five steals and four blocks.
Archbishop Spalding has not been sharp recently as the team has lost nine of their last ten contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 8-13 record this season. As for St. Frances Academy, the victory was the sixth in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 16-7.
Archbishop Spalding will be playing in front of their home fans against St. Timothy's at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Archbishop Spalding is facing St. Timothy's at the right time seeing as St. Timothy's is stuck on a five-game losing streak. As for St. Frances Academy, they will head out on the road to challenge Our Lady of Mount Carmel at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. The timing isn't great for Our Lady of Mount Carmel: they have been struggling with six straight losses at home, while St. Frances Academy has snatched up three consecutive wins on the road.
