Basketball Game Preview: Mercer Mustangs vs. Kennedy Catholic

Mercer hasn't had much luck against Kennedy Catholic recently, but that could start to change on Wednesday. The Mustangs will face off against Kennedy Catholic. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Last Thursday, even if it wasn't a dominant performance, Mercer beat Sharpsville 43-38.

Meanwhile, it can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Kennedy Catholic had no problem doing just that on Saturday. They blew past the Panthers 87-22. Kennedy Catholic has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won nine games by 22 points or more this season.

Mercer better focus on containing Bella Magestro and Tori Harvey as the pair were huge in Kennedy Catholic's win. Magestro shot 6-for-9 from long range and dropped a double-double with 41 points and 14 rebounds, while Harvey went 12-for-17 en route to 30 points along with eight boards and eight steals. Harvey's big performance that afternoon made it 12 games in a row in which she has scored at least 15 points. Another player making a difference was Meyah Joseph, who posted six points.

The win (which was Kennedy Catholic's 16th in a row) raised their record to 21-1. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 61.5 points over those games. As for Mercer, their win bumped their record up to 9-6.

Mercer took a serious blow against Kennedy Catholic in their previous meeting on February 5th, falling 71-39. Can the Mustangs avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.