Basketball Game Preview: Jacksonville Cardinals vs. D.H. Conley Vikings

Jacksonville and D.H. Conley are an even 4-4 against one another since March of 2020, but not for long. The Jacksonville Cardinals will take on the D.H. Conley Vikings at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Jacksonville has been dominant on offense recently, having racked up an incredible 202 points over their last three matches.

Jacksonville is headed into the contest after thoroughly thrashing Havelock: they outscored them in every quarter. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Jacksonville blew Havelock out of the water with a 71-29 final score. The Cardinals have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won eight games by 25 points or more this season.

Jacksonville's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Izabella Hernandez, who posted 16 points in addition to seven boards and six assists, and Emma Radcliffe, who went 9 for 14 on her way to 22 points. Those 22 points gave Radcliffe a new career-high. Serayah White was another key player, dropping a double-double on ten points and ten rebounds.

Jacksonville smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 23 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive rebounds in seven consecutive matches.

Meanwhile, after a string of five wins, D.H. Conley's good fortune finally ran out on Wednesday. They were dealt a 68-25 loss at the hands of South Central.

Jacksonville has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 11 of their last 12 contests, which provided a nice bump to their 14-4 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 60.3 points per game. As for D.H. Conley, their defeat ended a four-game streak of away wins and brought them to 13-6.

Jacksonville was able to grind out a solid win over D.H. Conley in their previous meeting back in January, winning 58-51. The rematch might be a little tougher for Jacksonville since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.