The Saint Joseph Jesters will head out on the road to face off against the Serra Cavaliers at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Saint Joseph is coming into the contest on a four-game losing streak.
Saint Joseph suffered their biggest loss since December 5, 2023 on Tuesday. They took a serious blow against St. Monica, falling 49-22. While losing is never fun, Saint Joseph can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 537th, while St. Monica is ranked 249th).
Despite the defeat, Saint Joseph saw an underclassman step up: Olivia Martinez dropped a double-double on 14 points and 12 rebounds. Martinez's trending in the right direction, as she's improved his point production for three games straight.
Meanwhile, Serra can now show off seven landslide victories after their most recent matchup on Tuesday. They blew past Mary Star of the Sea 51-15 on the road. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest victory Serra has posted since December 22, 2023.
Serra's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Jadah Foster, who scored nine points along with six steals. Mariah Lewis was another key contributor, dropping a double-double on 11 points and ten rebounds.
Saint Joseph has been struggling recently, as they've lost five of their last six contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 11-9 record this season. As for Serra, their victory ended a six-game drought on the road and puts them at 11-12.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Saint Joseph have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 36.5 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Serra struggles in that department as they've been averaging 20.7 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Saint Joseph suffered a grim 50-28 defeat to Serra in their previous meeting on January 2nd. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Serra's Kaicia Snelson, who scored 19 points along with seven rebounds and three steals. Now that Saint Joseph knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
