(GILBERT, Ariz.) Gilbert Christian girls' basketball split its games this week, defeating Crismon on the road Tuesday (53-30), before falling to Pusch Ridge at home on Wednesday (57-30). The Knights currently sit at 7-7 (1-2 3A South Central) on the year.
The GCHS rebounding effort was impressive against the Rattlers, as the Knights nearly tripled Crismon's total off of the glass, grabbing 26 offensive and 29 defensive boards, while scoring 40 points in the paint.
The Knights logged 20 steals in the affair, six of which belonged to junior Melissa Johnson. Freshman Lillie Duitsman, junior Mileigh Allan and freshman Alyssa Cervantez followed suit, with three apiece.
Sophomore Unesu Machiri put together another nice game, leading the Knights in scoring with 11, while grabbing eight rebounds and a pair of steals. Duitsman collected eight boards and two assists, and Allan stepped up as the chief rebounder, amassing a team-best nine in 16 minutes of action. Juniors Grace Charpentier and Karissa Bailie chipped in eight points apiece in the win.
Wednesday was a different story, as the Knights found themselves out-matched against a solid Pusch Ridge squad which saw three players hit double-digit scoring numbers in the contest.
Down 12-6 heading into the second, the Knights rallied back with a close quarter (11-10) to cut the lead to 23-16 at the half, but tapered off as the game progressed, to fall 57-30.
"I was happy with our defense and rebounding for the majority of the game, against yet another team that was stronger and more physical than us," Head Coach Mark Duitsman said. "We did some good things, but our turnovers gave them too many easy transition looks. Pusch has good size, they are balanced, they shoot great from the foul line, and they were able to put us away in that fourth quarter. These are the match-ups that we can learn the most from, and we just need to keep competing. We will pick ourselves up and keep moving forward. We are never going to stop fighting."
A trip to Valley Christian on Friday (5:30pm) is next for the Knights. The fourth-ranked Trojans are 14-1 on the season and 3-0 (1st) in regional play.
-GO KNIGHTS-
