Basketball Game Preview: Western Reserve Academy Pioneers vs. Magnificat Blue Streaks

The Western Reserve Academy Pioneers will challenge the Magnificat Blue Streaks at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with Western Reserve Academy sitting on six straight victories and Magnificat on four.

Western Reserve Academy will head into Wednesday's match hoping to keep the good times rolling: they had to skate by with only a two-point margin when they last took the court, which might have inspired the 21-point drubbing they dealt St. Joseph Academy on Wednesday. Western Reserve Academy put the hurt on St. Joseph Academy with a sharp 68-47 win. The Pioneers have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won six contests by 21 points or more this season.

Brooklyn Hall and Lilah Turnbull were among the main playmakers for Western Reserve Academy as the former dropped a double-double on 15 points and 11 rebounds and the latter went 5 of 9 on her way to 12 points and three steals. That's the most boards Hall has posted since back in December of 2023. Another player making a difference was Jordyn Steindl, who made all 5 shots she took racking up 11 points.

Western Reserve Academy smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 24 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in seven consecutive games.

Meanwhile, Magnificat was able to grind out a solid victory over Stow-Munroe Falls on Wednesday, taking the game 54-43. Given the Blue Streaks' advantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked third, while the Bulldogs are ranked 232nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Magnificat has also been performing well recently as they've won eight of their last ten matches, which provided a nice bump to their 14-5 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 58.0 points per game. As for Western Reserve Academy, their win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 14-6.