Mercy is 2-8 against Duchesne since January of 2020 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Mercy Monarchs will head out on the road to square off against the Duchesne Cardinals at 6:00 p.m. Mercy is hoping to put an end to a six-game streak of away losses.
Last Tuesday, Mercy came up short against Roncalli Catholic and fell 55-42.
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Madisyn Grzebielski, who scored seven points along with six rebounds and five assists. She hasn't dropped below two steals for three straight games. The team also got some help courtesy of Gianna Bayly, who scored seven points.
Even though they lost, Mercy smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive rebounds. That's the most offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, Duchesne's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Tuesday after their fourth straight loss. They took a 45-41 hit to the loss column at the hands of Gross Catholic. The match was a 21-21 toss-up at halftime, but Duchesne was outscored by Gross Catholic in the second.
The losing side was boosted by June Mullen, who scored 14 points along with six rebounds and five assists. Another player making a difference was Jada James, who scored 15 points along with five rebounds.
Mercy's defeat dropped their record down to 1-9. As for Duchesne, they have not been sharp recently, as they've lost six of their last eight matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 3-8 record this season.
Friday's contest is shaping up to be a scrappy contest: Mercy have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 25.8 rebounds per game. It's a different story for Duchesne, though, as they've been averaging only 24.5 rebounds per game. Given Mercy's sizeable advantage in that area, Duchesne will need to find a way to close that gap.
Mercy came up short against Duchesne in their previous meeting back in December of 2023, falling 54-41. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Mullen, who scored 16 points along with eight rebounds and six assists. Now that Mercy knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.
