Preview: Union Academy Cardinals vs. Parkwood Wolf Pack
Union Academy is 0-3 against Parkwood since December of 2017 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Union Academy Cardinals will head out on the road to face off against the Parkwood Wolf Pack at 6:00 p.m. Union Academy has been dominant on offense recently, as they've racked up an incredible 457 points over their last seven matchups.
Union Academy has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won five matches by 41 points or more this season. They claimed a resounding 71-21 win over Hickory Grove Christian on the road. Given Union Academy's advantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 129th, while Hickory Grove Christian is ranked 378th), the result on Tuesday wasn't entirely unexpected.
Union Academy relied on the efforts of Ranon Suttle, who scored 19 points along with three steals, and Jaiden Thompson, who scored 21 points along with seven rebounds and three steals. That makes it three consecutive games in which Thompson has scored at least 25% of Union Academy's points. Marianna Shine was another key contributor, scoring eight points.
Meanwhile, Parkwood's 22-6 record from last season is now well into the rear view mirror after another tough outing. They were the victim of a rough 62-36 defeat at the hands of Weddington on Tuesday. Parkwood has not had much luck with Weddington recently, as the team's come up short the last four times they've met.
Union Academy pushed their record up to 6-1 with that win, which was their third straight on the road. They've been dominating during the matches in that stretch too, as they've won by an average of 60 points. As for Parkwood, their loss dropped their record down to 2-4.
Union Academy took a serious blow against Parkwood when the teams last played back in November of 2022, falling 59-25. The game was all but decided by halftime, at which point Union Academy was down 41-8.
