The Maranatha Christian Academy fans had a lot to cheer about on Friday night during Homecoming at the Stable as all four MCA teams came out on top over the Trinity Tri-Hawks. The Boys C-team kicked things off with a 57-40 win, and the Mustang Little Leaders put on an amazing show during the first halftime performance of the night.
The Boys JV game was exciting all the way to the end as the Mustangs pulled off a 52-47 victory. As per usual, the cheerleaders brought a ton of energy to the gym and kept the crowd engaged all night.
The choir was at center court before the girls game to sing what was a beautiful rendition of the national anthem. From tipoff to the halftime buzzer, the Faith Johnson Patterson led Mustangs put pressure on the Tri-Hawks and forced turnover after turnover. They went into halftime with a 37-5 lead. As bench players started to get more time on the court in the second half, the Mustangs refused to let their intensity drop and went on to get the win by a score of 62-17. Heather Sheehy led the team with 17 points, followed by Zaniah Hunter with 12 points and Olivia Lanari with 10 points. Olivia Lanari also led the team with 13 rebounds and Zaniah Hunter had 6 steals, while Greta Eaves added 5 assists.
The highlight of the night was when sophomore guard Alyssa Warren took a shot from behind the arc. The crowd paused in silence while the ball was in the air and heard the swoosh of nothing but net as a huge cheer from the crowd was let out to support Alyssa for scoring her first points as a varsity player for the Mustangs.
The girls improved to 8-1 in the Skyline Conference and have an overall record of 13-3. Their next game is at home on Tuesday, February 4, where they will take on the St. Croix Lutheran Crusaders, who are currently undefeated in the Skyline Conference with a record of 8-0.
The Boys Varsity game was the final game of the night, with tipoff just before 8:30 pm, and the band leading fans with the playing of the national anthem.
The Tri-Hawks came out hot and got out to a quick 7-0 lead over the Mustangs. Maranatha finally got things going offensively and tied the game up at 14-14 before Trinity took back control with a 30-20 lead with seven minutes left in the first half. The Mustang went into halftime fortunate to be only being down by one point, 36-37, after an up-and-down, inconsistent first half.
Head Coach Matt Shepherd’s halftime talk was inspiring, and the second half was a different story in favor of the Mustangs. With the crowd behind them, they felt their confidence rise, and shots started to fall. Maranatha defeated the Trinity by a score of 84-64 to get the homecoming sweep!
All five starters put up double-digit points. Eli Ahrends led the team with 20 points, followed by Jojo Bartolomeos with 18, Dede McCrimmon with 14, Jaidyn Rennie with 13, and Teni Phillips with 12. Chris Daniel led the team with 6 assists, while Eli Ahrends and Teni Phillips controlled the boards with 23 combined rebounds.
The boys improved to 8-2 in the Skyline Conference and have an overall record of 8-9. They will be on the road Tuesday, February 4, where they will take on the St. Croix Lutheran Crusaders, who are currently undefeated in the Skyline Conference with a record of 8-0.
The Maranatha Athletic Department would like to thank everyone who helped make Homecoming 2025 a success. It couldn’t have been done without all the supporters who volunteered their time to help. We appreciate you!
GO MUSTANGS!!!
