The Tampa Catholic Crusaders's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Saturday after their third straight loss. They fell 57-50 to Tampa Prep. Tampa Catholic lost against Tampa Prep in their previous head to head back in February, too, but the margin this time around was much wider than the 52-42 score last time.
Khalia Woodley and Ashley Knox certainly did their best on Saturday to try and avoid the loss. Woodley scored 18 points, while Knox scored 16 points. Those 18 points set a new season-high mark for her. Jayla Grimsley was another key contributor, scoring eight points.
Tampa Prep's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Natalia Long, who scored 18 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Gabby Bush, who scored 16 points.
Tampa Catholic has traveled a rocky road recently, as they've lost five of their last six matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 4-5 record this season. As for Tampa Prep, they pushed their record up to 4-1 with that victory, which was their eighth straight at home dating back to last season.
Tampa Catholic is on the road again on Wednesday and play against Lakeland at 7:00 p.m. on December 13th. Lakeland comes in on a streak of failing to score more than 25 points in their last three games, a trend the squad is of course eager to reverse. Tampa Prep will have some time to savor their win since their next game is a little ways off: they'll take on Land O' Lakes at 5:00 p.m. on December 19th. Land O' Lakes will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Florida Rankings (they are ranked 140th, while Tampa Prep is ranked 50th).
