Central Christian is 9-1 against Lafayette Christian since January of 2016, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Thursday. The Central Christian Crusaders will face off against the Lafayette Christian Cougars at 6:00 p.m. Hopefully Central Christian focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 15 last Tuesday.
Last Tuesday, Central Christian was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap as they fell 41-35 to North Georgia Christian Academy.
Despite their defeat, Central Christian saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Riley Clark, who scored 12 points along with six steals and four blocks, was perhaps the best of all. Clark has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last eight times she's played. Another player making a difference was Sarah Passow, who almost dropped a double-double on ten points and nine rebounds.
Meanwhile, with a playoff game on the line, Lafayette Christian rose to the challenge on Monday. They walked away with a 45-36 win over the LIONS. Winning may never get old, but Lafayette Christian sure is getting used to it with their seventh in a row.
Carmen Bridges was her usual excellent self, dropping a double-double on 24 points and 15 rebounds. That makes it seven consecutive games in which she has scored at least a third of Lafayette Christian's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Reagan Bryant, who scored 12 points along with three blocks.
Central Christian's loss dropped their record down to 8-7. As for Lafayette Christian, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won nine of their last ten matches, which provided a massive bump to their 10-5 record this season.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Central Christian have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 33.3 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Lafayette Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging 26.7 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Central Christian came up short against Lafayette Christian in their previous meeting back in January, falling 49-44. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Bridges, who dropped a double-double on 35 points and 18 rebounds. Now that Central Christian knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.
