Preview: Norwich Free Academy Wildcats vs. Mercy Tigers
Norwich Free Academy is 1-9 against Mercy since January of 2016 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Norwich Free Academy Wildcats will wrap up 2023 with a road trip to face off against the Mercy Tigers at 5:00 p.m. Hopefully Norwich Free Academy focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up ten on Wednesday.
Last Wednesday, it was a hard-fought match, but Norwich Free Academy had to settle for a 32-30 loss against Killingly. The result shouldn't come as a shock considering that's the fewest points Norwich Free Academy has scored all season.
Despite their defeat, Norwich Free Academy saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Brooke Bolles, who scored six points along with five steals, was perhaps the best of all. Bolles continues to roll, besting her previous point total in each of the last three games she's played. Another player making a difference was Selia Atchinson, who scored seven points along with six rebounds and five steals.
Meanwhile, Mercy came tearing into last Thursday's matchup with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 12.3 points) and they left with even more momentum. They blew past Career Magnet, posting a 54-18 win on the road. Given Mercy's advantage in MaxPreps' Connecticut basketball rankings (they are ranked 17th, while Career Magnet is ranked 115th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Norwich Free Academy's loss dropped their record down to 3-3. As for Mercy, they pushed their record up to 4-1 with that victory, which was their third straight on the road.
Norwich Free Academy might still be hurting after the 53-28 loss they got from Mercy in their previous matchup back in January. Can Norwich Free Academy avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
