Basketball Game Preview: Faith Lutheran Crusaders vs. Palo Verde Panthers

Faith Lutheran has gone 8-2 against Palo Verde recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Wednesday. The Faith Lutheran Crusaders will head out on the road to face off against the Palo Verde Panthers at 6:30 p.m. Palo Verde took a loss in their last match and will be looking to turn the tables on Faith Lutheran, who comes in off a win.

Faith Lutheran is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They claimed a resounding 58-28 win over Las Vegas. Given the Crusaders' advantage in MaxPreps' Nevada basketball rankings (they are ranked 11th, while the Wildcats are ranked 62nd), the result on Thursday wasn't entirely unexpected.

Aliyah Maese and Caylyn Young were among the main playmakers for Faith Lutheran as the former posted 12 points and three steals and the latter had 15 points and six steals. That's the most points Maese has posted since back in December of 2024. Another player making a difference was London Camacho, who earned ten points and three steals.

Faith Lutheran was working as a unit and finished the game with 16 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.

Meanwhile, Palo Verde was not able to break out of their rough patch on Thursday as the team picked up their third straight defeat. They were outmatched by Democracy Prep Agassi Campus and fell 64-19. The Panthers were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 39-15.

Palo Verde's loss dropped their record down to 6-14. As for Faith Lutheran, their victory bumped their record up to 10-11.

Faith Lutheran strolled past Palo Verde in their previous meeting back in January of 2024 by a score of 55-40. The rematch might be a little tougher for Faith Lutheran since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.