Gaston Christian is on a five-game streak of home wins, while Asheville Christian Academy is on a five-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Gaston Christian Eagles will host the Asheville Christian Academy Lions at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. Gaston Christian is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 55 points per game this season.
Last Tuesday, Gaston Christian strolled past Hickory Grove Christian with points to spare, taking the game 46-29. Given the Eagles' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 139th, while the Lions are ranked 324th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Emily Haux
| 02/11/25 vs Hickory Grove Christian | 17 |
| 02/07/25 @ SouthLake Christian Academy | 30 |
| 02/04/25 vs Westminster Catawba Christian | 18 |
| 01/31/25 vs Socrates Academy | 21 |
| 01/28/25 vs Hickory Grove Christian | 23 |
Gaston Christian can attribute much of their success to Emily Haux, who went 6-for-12 to rack up 17 points along with seven steals and six assists, and Happy Arune, who dropped a double-double with 16 points and 19 rebounds. The contest was Haux's fifth in a row with at least 17 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Trinity Genteman, who posted seven points and six boards.
Gaston Christian smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 18 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds every time they've taken the court this season.
Meanwhile, with a playoff win on the line, Asheville Christian Academy rose to the challenge on Tuesday. They took down the Wildcats 54-38. The Lions haven't had any issues with the Wildcats recently, as the game was their fifth consecutive win against them.
Asheville Christian Academy's win came from a few key players Gaston Christian will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Ansley Fuchs, who almost dropped a double-double with 17 points and nine rebounds. What's more, she also posted a 80% shooting accuracy, which is the highest she's posted since back in December of 2024. Another player making a difference was Sara Larios, who went 6-for-13 en route to 17 points and five assists.
Gaston Christian is on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last nine matches, which provided a nice bump to their 15-5 record this season. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 34.1 points. As for Asheville Christian Academy, their victory bumped their record up to 13-11.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Gaston Christian has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 40.4 boards per game. However, it's not like Asheville Christian Academy struggles in that department as they've been averaging 25 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Gaston Christian came up short against Asheville Christian Academy in their previous meeting back in November of 2024, falling 43-33. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Larios, who went 8-for-20 on her way to 22 points in addition to seven assists and seven steals. Now that Gaston Christian knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.
