Ridgecroft has enjoyed the comforts of home their last three games, but now they'll head out on the road. They will square off against the Lawrence Academy Warriors at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Hopefully Ridgecroft is not getting complacent, as they presents a significant challenge as they come into the match much higher ranked than Lawrence Academy in North Carolina (Ridgecroft is ranked 32nd, while Lawrence Academy is ranked 188th).
In what's become a running theme this season, Ridgecroft gave their fans yet another huge win on Friday. They breezed by Northeast Academy at home to the tune of 56-25. 56 seems to be a good number for Ridgecroft as the squad scooped up a win with the same number of points in their previous game.
Makenzie Slaughter was her usual excellent self, scoring 15 points along with nine assists and six rebounds. She has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last seven times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Kate Chamblee, who scored 12 points along with eight rebounds.
Meanwhile, Lawrence Academy didn't have too much trouble with Albemarle School at home on Tuesday as they won 51-36. The win made it back-to-back wins for Lawrence Academy.
Lawrence Academy got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Jaslene Ethridge out in front who dropped a double-double on 16 points and 16 rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Ethridge has scored all season. Another player making a difference was Claire Smith, who scored 16 points along with eight rebounds.
Ridgecroft pushed their record up to 12-0 with that win, which was their sixth straight at home. As for Lawrence Academy, they have been performing well recently as they've won seven of their last nine matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 9-4 record this season.
Friday's game is shaping up to be a scrappy matchup: Ridgecroft have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 34.6 rebounds per game. It's a different story for Lawrence Academy, though, as they've been averaging only 33 rebounds per game. Given Ridgecroft's sizeable advantage in that area, Lawrence Academy will need to find a way to close that gap.
Ridgecroft didn't have too much breathing room in their match against Lawrence Academy when the teams last played two weeks ago, but they still walked away with a 46-42 win. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Lawrence Academy's Trinity Congleton, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and 11 rebounds. Now that she's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Ridgecroft still be able to contain him? There's only one way to find out.