The Denbigh Baptist Christian Minutemen will venture away from home to take on the Broadwater Academy Vikings at 4:30 p.m. on Friday.
Denbigh Baptist Christian is headed into the contest out to prove that what happened against Atlantic Shores Christian on Tuesday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Denbigh Baptist Christian came up short against Atlantic Shores Christian, falling 48-26. The Minutemen were down 40-16 at the end of the third quarter, which was just too much to recover from.
Denbigh Baptist Christian's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Julia Kinney, who posted 12 points along with seven steals and five boards, and Tori Carr, who scored eight points in addition to six steals and five rebounds. What's more, Carr also posted a 40% field goal percentage, which is the highest she's posted since back in December of 2023.
Meanwhile, you're bound to get a positive result if you outscore your opponent every quarter, and that's exactly how it played out for Broadwater Academy on Thursday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that they blew Chincoteague out of the water with a 55-10 final score. The game marked the Vikings' most dominant win of the season.
Denbigh Baptist Christian better keep an eye on Leah Smith. She was instrumental in Broadwater Academy's win, dropping a double-double with 30 points and 15 rebounds. Smith has become a key player for Broadwater Academy: the team is 6-1 when she posts at least eight boards, but 3-5 otherwise. Miranda Smith was another key player, putting up four points and eight rebounds.
The victory made it two in a row for Broadwater Academy and bumps their season record up to 9-6. A key ingredient in that success has been their performance when it comes to three-point shooting accuracy: their three-point shooting accuracy was 43.8% in those games and 17.5% outside of them. As for Denbigh Baptist Christian, they have traveled a rocky road recently having lost four of their last five matches, which has put a noticeable dent in their 6-10 record this season.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Denbigh Baptist Christian has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 28.6 boards per game. However, it's not like Broadwater Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 26.2 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Denbigh Baptist Christian came up short against Broadwater Academy when the teams last played back in January, falling 31-24. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Smith, who put up 15 points along with eight boards and four steals. Now that Denbigh Baptist Christian knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.
