Two dominant guards in Sydney Esperanza and Ava Pautz are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Kentridge Chargers just played last night, but they'll still head out to face the Notre Dame Prep Saints at 2:00 p.m. on December 29th.
Kentridge has been a dominant force so far, but they're in the middle of a mini-slump at the moment. They were just a bucket shy of victory on Thursday and fell 42-41 to Auburn.
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Esperanza, who scored 16 points along with four steals. Those 16 points set a new season-high mark for her. The team also got some help courtesy of Jayla Keowla, who scored nine points along with seven rebounds.
Meanwhile, Notre Dame Prep waltzed into their matchup Thursday with eight straight wins but they left with nine. They enjoyed a cozy 55-40 victory over Bainbridge. Given Notre Dame Prep's advantage in MaxPreps's basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 23rd in Arizona, while Bainbridge is ranked 139th in Washington), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Notre Dame Prep's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Pautz, who scored 19 points along with five rebounds. The match was Pautz's ninth in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Brooke Nowak, who scored 14 points along with four steals.
Kentridge has been struggling recently, as they've lost three of their last four matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 7-3 record this season. As for Notre Dame Prep, their win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 10-2.
