Photo Credit: Mick Lite Photography
After spending the Independence Day weekend idle, the St. Louis Surge plans on re-igniting its own brand of fireworks this weekend at home in quest of its seventh straight win.
St. Louis (7-1) hosts the Cleveland Crush (1-2) Saturday at UMSL’s Mark Twain Building (1 University Boulevard, St. Louis, MO) at 7:05 p.m.
The Surge claimed the top spot of the Midwest Division standings of the Women’s Blue Chip Basketball League (WBCBL) with a 93-88 home victory over division rival Flyers Elite two weekends ago.
In the contest, St. Louis sported a two-point lead at intermission and proceeded to outscore the Elite by ten in the third quarter to propel the victory. A quintet of Surge players scored double-digits in the five point duke with 19 points each collected by veterans Rebecca Harris and Leah Cotton.
Surge 2016 addition Michala Johnson continued her solid WBCBL rookie campaign with 16 points while Brittany Wilson went 3-of-4 beyond the three-point arc en route to 15 on the ledger. Â Veteran Jaleesa Butler added to the firepower with 14 points.
Photo Credit: Mick Lite Photography
Additional strength was supplemented by Raven Berry, Bianca Beck, Cassie Rochel, Tori Waldner and Denisha Womack, who held the Flyers defensively in pivotal moments during the Surge’s seventh win of the year. Guards Shanity James and Jenny Rocha are also expected to put in quality minutes this weekend.
Saturday’s opponent, Cleveland Crush, currently leads the WBCBL’s North East Division and seeks to play spoiler against the Surge, who have won 15 straight home games at UMSL.
The Crush is paced offensively by Shana Thompson and Jessica Tamerlano, who each average close to 20 points per contest.
Tickets are $8 for adults while students are $5. Children five and under are free and youths wearing their local hoops jerseys also receive complimentary admission.
For more information on the Surge, go to stlsurgebasketball.com.
By trade, he is a six-time, regional Emmy Award-winning news videographer/editor for KTVI/KPLR-TV. By hobby, he is a writer for Arch City Media, dating back to February 2014. Emphasis is on featuring and promoting local women's sports, but will cover anything that is not reported by traditional media outlets. Also a contributor to local concert reviews.
