Middle Tennessee Christian is 7-2 against Battle Ground Academy since November of 2016, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Tuesday. The Middle Tennessee Christian Cougars just played last night, but they'll still head out to face the Battle Ground Academy Wildcats at 6:00 p.m. on January 23rd. Hopefully Middle Tennessee Christian focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 11 on Monday.
Middle Tennessee Christian posted their biggest victory since December 1, 2023 on Monday. Everything went their way against Columbia Academy as Middle Tennessee Christian made off with a 71-49 win. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest win Middle Tennessee Christian has posted against Columbia Academy since November 30, 2021.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Middle Tennessee Christian to victory, but perhaps none more so than Anna clay Shirley, who scored 30 points. That makes it four consecutive games in which Shirley has scored at least a third of Middle Tennessee Christian's points. Madison Graham was another key contributor, scoring 26 points along with two steals.
Meanwhile, Battle Ground Academy came up short against Grace Christian Academy on Monday and fell 54-46. While losing is never fun, Battle Ground Academy can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Tennessee basketball rankings (they are ranked 266th, while Grace Christian Academy is ranked 79th).
Despite the loss, Battle Ground Academy got a solid performance out of Dj Haws, who dropped a double-double on 20 points and 14 rebounds. Haws also grabbed two steals for the first time this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Ann Gentry Lambert, who scored ten points.
The victory got Middle Tennessee Christian back to even at 9-9. As for Battle Ground Academy, their defeat dropped their record down to 4-12.
Keep an eye on the arc in Tuesday's matchup: Middle Tennessee Christian have made nailing deep shots look easy this year this season, having only averaged 5.6 threes per game. It's a different story for Battle Ground Academy, though, as they've been averaging only 4.9 threes per game. Given Middle Tennessee Christian's sizeable advantage in that area, Battle Ground Academy will need to find a way to close that gap.
Middle Tennessee Christian strolled past Battle Ground Academy in their previous matchup back in December of 2023 by a score of 59-44. The rematch might be a little tougher for Middle Tennessee Christian since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
