Terra Ceia Christian has won four straight games at home, while Ahoskie Christian has won four straight on the road, but those streaks won't matter much on Thursday. The Terra Ceia Christian Knights will welcome Ahoskie Christian at 6:00 p.m. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Terra Ceia Christian is headed into the contest after thoroughly thrashing Heritage Christian Academy: they outscored them in every quarter. Terra Ceia Christian enjoyed a cozy 40-23 victory over Heritage Christian Academy on Tuesday.
Terra Ceia Christian's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Lakin Van Essendelft, who went 7 for 15 on her way to 17 points and eight steals, and Hannah VanEssendelft, who posted six points and seven steals. That makes it three consecutive games in which Van Essendelft has scored at least a third of Terra Ceia Christian's points. Another player making a difference was Harley James, who scored six points.
Meanwhile, after only 25 points in their last game, Ahoskie Christian made sure to put some points up on the board against Bethel Assembly Christian Academy on Tuesday. Ahoskie Christian strolled past Bethel Assembly Christian Academy with points to spare, taking the game 57-41.
Ahoskie Christian's win came from a few key players Terra Ceia Christian will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Lilly Lassiter, who put up 22 points in addition to eight boards and four steals. Kaylee Jones was another key player, dropping a double-double on 11 points and 13 rebounds.
Ahoskie Christian smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in six consecutive matches.
Terra Ceia Christian has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won eight of their last nine contests, which provided a nice bump to their 10-4 record this season. The wins came thanks to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 27.0 points per game. As for Ahoskie Christian, their win bumped their record up to 9-12.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Terra Ceia Christian has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 22.3 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Ahoskie Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging 30.9 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Terra Ceia Christian didn't have too much breathing room in their game against Ahoskie Christian in their previous meeting back in January, but they still walked away with a 29-25 victory. Will Terra Ceia Christian repeat their success, or does Ahoskie Christian have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
