Two dominant guards in Ashley Knox and Sumayah McIntosh are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Tampa Catholic Crusaders will square off against the Lakewood Spartans on Thursday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Tampa Catholic is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Winthrop College Prep Academy 76-4. Given the Crusaders' advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 74th, while the Spartans are ranked 465th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Meanwhile, Lakewood blew past Berkeley Prep, posting a 73-35 win. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Spartans.
Tampa Catholic better focus on containing McIntosh and Alahni Lovett as the pair were huge in Lakewood's win. McIntosh went 7 for 15 on her way to 17 points in addition to seven steals and six assists, while Lovett went 7 of 10 en route to 19 points and five steals. McIntosh is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed three or more in the last four games she's played. Another player making a difference was Mikayla Paschal, who posted eight points along with eight rebounds and three steals.
Lakewood smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 18 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 11 offensive boards in four consecutive contests.
Tampa Catholic's victory bumped their record up to 16-10. As for Lakewood, they are also on a roll lately: they've won nine of their last ten matches, which provided a nice bump to their 17-7 record this season.
Tampa Catholic came up short against Lakewood in their previous meeting back in December of 2014, falling 58-52. Can Tampa Catholic avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
