Eden Christian Academy has enjoyed the comforts of home their last two games, but now they'll head out on the road. They will take on the St. Joseph Spartans at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Eden Christian Academy posted their biggest win since December 12, 2023 on Saturday. They were the clear victor by a 50-27 margin over West Greene. Given Eden Christian Academy's advantage in MaxPreps' Pennsylvania basketball rankings (they are ranked 284th, while West Greene is ranked 590th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Eden Christian Academy relied on the efforts of Emmie Smith, who scored 12 points along with nine rebounds and six assists, and Hope Haring, who scored 21 points along with eight steals. Haring is absolutely dominating the steal category: she's posted at least two every time she's taken the court this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Elysia Smith, who scored four points along with seven rebounds.
Meanwhile, St. Joseph waltzed into their contest on Monday with six straight wins but they left with seven. They claimed a resounding 70-40 win over Riverview at home.
Julie Spinelli was her usual excellent self, scoring 22 points along with four steals. She has been hot recently, having posted 15 or more points the last eight times she's played. Another player making a difference was Anna Kreinbrook, who scored 15 points along with seven rebounds and three steals.
Eden Christian Academy is on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five matches, which provided a nice bump to their 8-6 record this season. As for St. Joseph, they pushed their record up to 12-2 with that victory, which was their 11th straight at home dating back to last season.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Eden Christian Academy have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 30.1 rebounds per game. It's a different story for St. Joseph, though, as they've been averaging only 38.3 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Eden Christian Academy came up short against St. Joseph in their previous meeting back in January of 2023, falling 59-49. Can Eden Christian Academy avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
