Ontario Christian has won 12 straight games at home (dating back to last season), while Sage Hill has won 12 straight on the road, but those streaks won't matter much on Saturday. After both having extra time off, the two teams will shake off the cobwebs and square off against one another at 7:00 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Ontario Christian saw some tournament action last Saturday. They took their match with ease, bagging a 77-50 win over Lynwood. Given Ontario Christian's advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked second, while Lynwood is ranked 91st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Kaleena Smith
| 02/01/25 vs Lynwood | 26 |
| 01/25/25 vs La Jolla Country Day | 37 |
| 01/17/25 vs Christ the King | 26 |
| 01/13/25 vs Rancho Christian | 29 |
Ontario Christian found their leader in sophomore Kaleena Smith, who went 10 for 22 on her way to 26 points and four steals. Smith's evening made it four games in a row in which she has scored at least 26 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Sydney Douglas, who dropped a double-double with 12 points and 18 rebounds.
Ontario Christian smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 25 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive boards every time they've taken the court this season.
Meanwhile, Sage Hill was fully in charge last Tuesday, breezing past St. Margaret's 72-31.
Sage Hill's win came from a few key players Ontario Christian will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Eve Fowler, who almost dropped a double-double with 12 points and nine boards. She is also on a roll when it comes to shooting accuracy, as she's posted one of at least 45% in the last four games she's played. Another player making a difference was Amalia Holguin, who went 6 of 11 to rack up 13 points and three steals.
Sage Hill has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 11 of their last 12 contests, which provided a massive bump to their 19-8 record this season. A key ingredient in that success has been their performance when it comes to three-point shooting accuracy: their three-point shooting accuracy was 34.6% in those games and 27.6% outside of them. As for Ontario Christian, their victory bumped their record up to 25-1.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Ontario Christian has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 39.7 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Sage Hill struggles in that department as they've been averaging 32.7 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Ontario Christian didn't have too much breathing room in their game against Sage Hill when the teams last played back in February of 2024, but they still walked away with a 71-67 win. Will Ontario Christian repeat their success, or does Sage Hill have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
