Franklin Road Christian hasn't had much luck against Clarksville Christian recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Franklin Road Christian Minutemen will venture away from home to square off against the Clarksville Christian Centurions at 5:00 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Franklin Road Christian took a loss when they played away from home on Saturday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Tuesday. They blew past Highland Rim Academy 52-31. Given the Minutemen's advantage in MaxPreps' Tennessee basketball rankings (they are ranked 130th, while Highland Rim Academy are ranked 264th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Lakelyn Dempsey
| 02/11/25 vs Highland Rim Academy | 24 |
| 01/24/25 @ Pleasant View Christian | 19 |
| 11/14/24 @ Dickson Academy | 19 |
| 12/14/24 vs Desoto County Academy | 17 |
| 01/23/25 @ Zion Christian Academy | 16 |
Franklin Road Christian relied on the efforts of Lakelyn Dempsey, who went 10 for 17 on her way to 24 points in addition to six rebounds and five assists, and Anora Golden, who dropped a double-double with 12 points and ten steals. The dominant performance gave Dempsey a new career-high in points. Another player making a difference was Bryleigh Dempsey, who posted five points.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Clarksville Christian). They breezed past Franklin Classical School to the tune of 88-27 on Tuesday. The win was familiar territory for the Centurions who have now won three contests in a row.
Clarksville Christian's win came from a few key players Franklin Road Christian will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Niah Rhodes, who made all 11 shots she took racking up 23 points and five steals. Thanks to that strong game, she now owns an excellent 45.4% shooting accuracy. Lauren Hassell was another key player, going 8 of 11 to rack up 18 points along with seven assists and five boards.
They weren't the only ones working in the assist department: Clarksville Christian was working as a unit and finished the game with 29 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.
Clarksville Christian pushed their record up to 16-8 with the victory, which was their fifth straight at home. Those victories came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 15.6 points over those games. As for Franklin Road Christian, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 11 of their last 12 games, which provided a nice bump to their 28-4 record this season.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Franklin Road Christian has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 36.8 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Clarksville Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging 32.4 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Franklin Road Christian was taken down by Clarksville Christian 74-34 in their previous matchup back in February of 2024. Can Franklin Road Christian avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
