Canterbury has enjoyed a two-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will face off against the Bell Creek Academy Panthers at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Canterbury posted their biggest win yet this season on Tuesday. They breezed by Cambridge Christian at home to the tune of 57-8.
Canterbury's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but MacKenzie Tucker led the charge by dropping a double-double on 20 points and 11 steals. Zy'nasia Alhuzaifi was another key contributor, scoring 20 points along with nine rebounds and eight steals.
Meanwhile, you can't lose the matchup if you win every quarter, and that was precisely Bell Creek Academy's strategy against Santa Fe Catholic on Monday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Bell Creek Academy blew Santa Fe Catholic out of the water with a 55-15 final score. Bell Creek Academy pushed the score to 43-12 by the end of the third, a deficit Santa Fe Catholic had no chance of recovering from.
Bell Creek Academy's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Christyana Allen, who scored 25 points along with six rebounds and two steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Allen has scored all season. Another player making a difference was Aliah Newsome, who scored 18 points along with seven rebounds and five steals.
Canterbury's victory was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 8-6. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 50.8 points per game. As for Bell Creek Academy, the win makes it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 11-9.
Thursday's matchup is shaping up to be a scrappy matchup: Canterbury haven't given up the ball easily this season, having only averaged 8.6 turnovers per game. It's a different story for Bell Creek Academy, though, as they've been averaging 25.5 turnovers per game. Given Canterbury's sizeable advantage in that area, Bell Creek Academy will need to find a way to close that gap.
Canterbury came up short against Bell Creek Academy in their previous meeting back in December of 2023, falling 45-40. Can Canterbury avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
