The Unity Christian Academy Warriors will square off against the Terra Ceia Christian Knights at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. The squads are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Unity Christian Academy has struggled recently with three defeats in a row, while Terra Ceia Christian will arrive with three straight wins.
Unity Christian Academy is headed into the contest out to prove that what happened against Varsity Opponent on Thursday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Unity Christian Academy had to suffer through a 52-18 loss at the hands of Varsity Opponent. The Warriors were down 34-8 at the end of the third quarter, and things only got worse from there.
Lena Timmons was Unity Christian Academy's leading scorer, having posted ten points. Kayleigh Ballance held things down on the boards with eight rebounds.
Meanwhile, you can't lose the game if you win every quarter, and that was precisely Terra Ceia Christian's strategy against Heritage Christian Academy last Tuesday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Terra Ceia Christian blew Heritage Christian Academy out of the water with a 67-34 final score. That looming 67-34 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for the Knights yet this season.
Unity Christian Academy better keep an eye on Lakin Van Essendelft. She was instrumental in Terra Ceia Christian's win, going 13 of 18 en route to 28 points along with five assists and five steals. Van Essendelft is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed four or more in the last five games she's played. Leah Harrison was another key player, putting up ten points and eight steals.
Terra Ceia Christian was working as a unit and finished the game with 12 assists. That's the most assists they've posted since back in January of 2024.
Terra Ceia Christian is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six games, which provided a massive bump to their 5-3 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 54.8 points per game. As for Unity Christian Academy, their loss dropped their record down to 2-10.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Unity Christian Academy has been crashing the rebounds this season, having averaged 22.7 boards per game. However, it's not like Terra Ceia Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging 20.1 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Unity Christian Academy suffered a grim 44-19 defeat to Terra Ceia Christian in their previous meeting back in February of 2024. Will Unity Christian Academy have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more basketball content.
