The Neuse Christian Academy Lions will square off against the Thales Academy Apex Titans on Monday. Neuse Christian Academy's defense has only allowed 28.6 points per game this season, so Thales Academy Apex's offense will have their work cut out for them.
Neuse Christian Academy will face Thales Academy Apex after dropping another heartbreaker against St. Thomas More Academy on Tuesday, which marked the third time in a row the team's come within 3.1 of beating them. Neuse Christian Academy had to suffer through a 41-14 loss at the hands of St. Thomas More Academy. The match marked the Lions' lowest-scoring game so far this season.
They got a good chunk of their points from the dynamic duo of Lila Sarant and Lyla Lindstrom, who each put up four points. Morgan Little held things down on the boards with six rebounds. She took the lead distributing the ball, coming up with three assists.
Meanwhile, Thales Academy Apex was fully in charge on Thursday, breezing past Friendship Christian 67-21. The Titans have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won five contests by 26 points or more this season.
Neuse Christian Academy better keep an eye on Anna Maass. She was instrumental in Thales Academy Apex's win, putting up 37 points in addition to eight rebounds and five steals. That makes it six consecutive games in which Maass has scored at least a third of Thales Academy Apex's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Kate Sproul, who posted six points and 11 steals.
Thales Academy Apex was working as a unit and finished the game with 20 assists. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their assist total in four consecutive matchups.
Thales Academy Apex is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four games, which provided a nice bump to their 8-4 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 50.3 points per game. As for Neuse Christian Academy, their loss was their seventh straight on the road dating back to last season, which dropped their record down to 6-4.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Neuse Christian Academy has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 35.7 boards per game. However, it's not like Thales Academy Apex struggles in that department as they've been averaging 32 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Neuse Christian Academy was taken down by Thales Academy Apex 61-24 in their previous meeting back in January of 2024. Can Neuse Christian Academy avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
