Basketball Game Preview: St. Mary's Saints vs. Durham Academy Cavaliers

St. Mary hasn't had much luck against Durham Academy recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The St. Mary's Saints will take on the Durham Academy Cavaliers at 5:45 p.m. St. Mary's is coming into the match hot, having won their last seven games.

While St. Mary's didn't have the best season last year (they finished 7-14), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They snuck past St. David's with a 38-32 victory back in December of 2024. Given the Saints' advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 94th, while the Warriors are ranked 208th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

St. Mary's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Kate Chamblee led the charge by putting up ten points along with four blocks and three steals. Chamblee is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in the last three games she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Mary-Scott Wrenn, who posted nine points and three steals.

St. Mary's was working as a unit and finished the game with 13 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as St. David's only racked up seven assists.

Meanwhile, Durham Academy beat Riverside-Durham 42-31 on Tuesday. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Cavaliers.

St. Mary's win was their sixth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 9-1. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 51.2 points per game. As for Durham Academy, they have been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five contests, which provided a nice bump to their 8-6 record this season.

St. Mary's came up short against Durham Academy in their previous meeting back in February of 2024, falling 60-49. Can St. Mary's avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.