The Madison Mavericks's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Tuesday after their seventh straight loss. They ended up on the wrong side of a tough 58-36 walloping at the hands of Churchill. Madison has not had much luck with Churchill recently, as the team's come up short the last four times they've met.
When it comes to explaining why Madison lost, one person who can't be blamed is Nadia Bailey. Despite the final result, she scored 17 points along with seven rebounds and four steals. That was a full 47.2% of Madison's points, marking the third time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points. Yazmin Torrez was another key contributor, scoring seven points along with five rebounds and three steals.
Churchill's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Rakiya Nelson led the charge by dropping a double-double on 13 points and 12 rebounds. Nelson has been hot recently, having posted eight or more rebounds the last five times she's played. Another player making a difference was Alina Hernandez, who scored 17 points along with six rebounds and two steals.
Madison has not been sharp recently, as they've lost 12 of their last 13 matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 12-18 record this season. As for Churchill, the win was the fourth in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 22-9.
Madison on the road again on Friday and play against SA Roosevelt at 5:00 p.m. on January 19th. SA Roosevelt has now lost 13 straight, and the team is hunting for their first win since November 18. As for Churchill, they will head out on the road to challenge Johnson at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. One thing working in Johnson's favor is that they have posted big point totals in their last three contests.
