The Montverde Academy Eagles will square off against the St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Montverde Academy comes in on eight and St. Thomas Aquinas on three.
Montverde Academy is headed into the contest after thoroughly thrashing Dr. Phillips: they outscored them in every quarter. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Montverde Academy blew Dr. Phillips out of the water with a 71-43 final score. The Eagles have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won three games by 25 points or more this season.
| 12/11/24 vs Dr. Phillips | 20 |
| 11/26/24 vs Winston Salem Christian National | 26 |
| 11/25/24 vs Hoosac | 20 |
| 11/23/24 vs Magnificat | 21 |
| 11/22/24 vs Purcell Marian | 21 |
Montverde Academy's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Aaliyah Crump, who posted 15 points along with eight assists and four steals, and Saniyah Hall, who had 20 points and five rebounds. Hall's evening made it five games in a row in which she has scored at least ten points. Amaia Jackson was another key player, putting up 11 points and five rebounds.
Meanwhile, St. Thomas Aquinas blew past Cardinal Gibbons, posting a 61-21 victory. That 40 point margin sets a new team best for the Raiders this season.
St. Thomas Aquinas' win came from a few key players Montverde Academy will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Nyla Mcfadden, who posted 14 points along with eight boards and three blocks. She is on a roll when it comes to blocks, as she's now posted two or more in the last three games she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of London Thomas, who had 13 points in addition to five assists and five rebounds.
St. Thomas Aquinas is on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five matches, which provided a nice bump to their 5-3 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 57.4 points per game. As for Montverde Academy, their win bumped their record up to 5-0.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Montverde Academy has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 37.4 boards per game. However, it's not like St. Thomas Aquinas struggles in that department as they've been averaging 29.6 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Montverde Academy beat St. Thomas Aquinas 55-43 in their previous matchup back in January. Will Montverde Academy repeat their success, or does St. Thomas Aquinas have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
