The Xavier Prep Saints and the Vaughn White Tigers will round out the year against one another at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday at. Xavier Prep is looking to tack on another W to their nine-game streak on the road dating back to last season.
Xavier Prep has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won seven contests by 20 points or more this season. They took their match at home on Thursday with ease, bagging a 60-13 victory over Rancho Mirage. The win was just what Xavier Prep needed coming off of a 51-21 loss in their prior match.
Xavier Prep's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Grace Thomsen, who scored 17 points along with three blocks. Those 17 points set a new season-high mark for her. Amoree Ferrel was another key contributor, scoring nine points along with eight assists and five steals.
Meanwhile, Vaughn's 21-6 record from last season is now well into the rear view mirror after another tough outing. They fell 57-50 to Ramona Convent last Saturday. While losing is never fun, Vaughn can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 1035th, while Ramona Convent is ranked 288th).
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Yamileth Ferreira, who scored 20 points along with eight rebounds and four steals. She scored a full 40% of Vaughn's points, the fourth time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Mariah Eulloqui, who scored nine points along with 11 rebounds and six steals.
Even though they lost, Vaughn were smashing the offensive glass and finished the game with 24 offensive rebounds. That's the most offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
Xavier Prep's win bumped their record up to 12-3. As for Vaughn, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-9.
Keep an eye on the arc in Wednesday's game: Xavier Prep have been dynamite from deep this season, having drained 41.1% of their threes per game. It's a different story for Vaughn, though, as they've only made 26.4% of their threes per game this season. Given Xavier Prep's sizeable advantage in that area, Vaughn will need to find a way to close that gap.
Everything came up roses for Xavier Prep against Vaughn in their previous matchup back in January of 2020 as the squad secured a 62-25 victory. With Xavier Prep ahead 36-13 at the half, the match was all but over already.
