Basketball Recap: Academy of the Holy Names' Win on Friday Extends Winning Streak to Three

Academy of the Holy Names entered their tilt with St. Petersburg Catholic on Friday with two consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with three. They strolled past the St. Petersburg Catholic Barons with points to spare, taking the game 56-40. The Jaguars pushed the score to 42-22 by the end of the third, a deficit the Barons cut but never quite recovered from.

Academy of the Holy Names' success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Sam Castro led the charge by putting up nine points in addition to seven boards and six assists. That's the most points Castro has posted since back in February of 2024. Another player making a difference was Olivia Vargas, who posted 12 points and four steals.

Castro wasn't the only one working in the assists department: Academy of the Holy Names was working as a unit and finished the game with 16 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as St. Petersburg Catholic only racked up ten assists.

When it comes to explaining why St. Petersburg Catholic lost, don't look at Liv Geritano. Despite the final result, she scored 17 points along with seven rebounds and five steals. The contest was Geritano's third in a row with at least ten points. Naomi Denmark was another key player, going 5 for 7 on her way to 12 points.

Academy of the Holy Names is on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 12-13 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 51.0 points per game. As for St. Petersburg Catholic, with the defeat, they broke their three-game winning streak and moved their record to 17-9.

Academy of the Holy Names and St. Petersburg Catholic are set to take part in some playoff action in their next matches. Academy of the Holy Names will take on Calvary Christian at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Calvary Christian's defense has only allowed 30 points per game this season, so Academy of the Holy Names' offense will have their work cut out for them. As for St. Petersburg Catholic, they will host Out-of-Door Academy at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday.