The Morningside Academy Eagles will head out on the road to challenge the Jupiter Christian Eagles at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Morningside Academy's defense has only allowed 28.1 points per game this season, so the Eagles' offense will have their work cut out for them.
Morningside Academy struggled with assists on Tuesday (the Tigers had seven more) and sadly the final score reflected it. Morningside Academy was dealt a 60-29 loss at the hands of the Tigers. While losing is never fun, Morningside Academy can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 322nd, while the Tigers are ranked 98th).
Despite the loss, Morningside Academy had strong showings from Giuliana Bonasera, who dropped a double-double on 11 points and 13 rebounds, and Emmilina Miller, who scored nine points. Bonasera hasn't dropped below nine rebounds for 17 straight games. The team also got some help courtesy of Arianna Wallace, who scored four points along with five rebounds.
Meanwhile, Jupiter Christian can now show off five landslide victories after their most recent game on Monday. Everything went their way against Leonard as Jupiter Christian made off with a 34-13 win. The victory was just what Jupiter Christian needed coming off of a 51-28 loss in their prior contest.
Jupiter Christian found their leader in underclassman Emilia Edgar, who scored 16 points. Anna Norus was another key contributor, scoring seven points along with eight rebounds.
Morningside Academy's defeat ended a three-game streak of away wins and brought them to 15-5. As for Jupiter Christian, the win got them back to even at 8-8.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Morningside Academy have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 34.8 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Jupiter Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging 36.7 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Morningside Academy strolled past the Eagles in their previous matchup back in December of 2023 by a score of 58-39. The rematch might be a little tougher for Morningside Academy since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
