The Kingwood Christian girls basketball team picked up its 19th straight win Monday night, just after a three-win week that included victories over two top-10 teams.

The Lions, ranked No. 1 in AISA in the latest sportswriters poll, improved their record to 19-0 with the 50-20 win against Shelby Academy.

&uot;We’ve played well defensively all year,&uot; said KCS coach Jerry Stearns.

Kingwood is averaging nearly 55 points per game but is only giving up around 26 points per game on defense.

Freshman guard Hannah Phillips drained four 3-point shots and led Kingwood with 18 points against the Raiders.

The 3-point basket has played a key role in the Lions’ offense all season.

&uot;That’s part of my system,&uot; Stearns said. &uot;We practice 3s every day with all of our guards.&uot;

Seven different Kingwood players have connected from outside the line this season.

&uot;And when people come outside and try to guard us we can pound it inside,&uot; Stearns said.

Lori Hereford scored 14 points with seven steals and four rebounds while Lindsay Gorecki pulled down 9 rebounds the Raiders.

Shelby Academy (8-6) was led by Kimbrell Lee with 10 points and

Lindsay Healy with eight points.

The Lions defended their No. 1 ranking last week by beating No. 10 Morgan and No. 5 Meadowview in back-to-back games at home.

On Friday, Kingwood hosted Tuscaloosa Academy, winning 54-28.

Phillips eclipsed the 20-point mark in all three games, picking up a week-high 23 against Meadowview.

Lindsay Gorecki scored 17 points against Morgan and picked up another 14 against Tuscaloosa Academy.

Lindsay’s twin sister Meghan Gorecki scored 14 in the Meadowview game.

Kingwood’s girls are now 3-0 in area play and only four regular season games stand between them and an undefeated season.

&uot;That’s definitely one of our goals,&uot; Stearns said. &uot;But we don’t dwell on it. We try to play one game at a time.&uot;

Kingwood’s girls are not the only basketball team to enjoy recent success at the Alabaster school.

Kingwood’s boys basketball team, under the leadership of first-year coach Josh Golden, has won four of their last seven games after knocking off defending AISA state champs Shelby Academy on Monday.

The Lions, who suffered a winless season just last year, improved to 7-13 on the season with the 46-43 win.

Freshman Cody Owens stepped up for Kingwood, scoring 13 points and nailing a 3-pointer in the game’s final minutes to lead the Lions to the win.

Kingwood deflected Shelby Academy’s final 3-point attempt to secure the victory.

Fabian Kegel, the Lions’ leading scorer this season, picked up 11 points and seven assits while Morgan Driscoll added nine points.

Shelby Academy was led by Justin Klepin with 20 points.

Kingwood picked up its first area win last week by knocking off Meadowview 47-41.

Driscoll scored 15 points, all from 3-point shots, as the Lions nailed nine team 3-pointers to beat Meadowview and move to 1-2 in area play