The Leah Macy Show, plus 2 more takeaways from Mercy’s win over PRP in the Sixth Region semis

Matt Stahl

March 3, 2022 at 10:10 PM·3 min read

The Mercy Academy Jaguars took care of business on Thursday, beating the Pleasure Ridge Park Lady Panthers 75-44 in the Sixth Region semifinals at Valley High School.

The Jaguars advance to face Bullitt East in the finals.

Here are three takeaways from the game.

Never in doubt

From the opening tip, it was clear Mercy was the superior team. The Lady Panthers only led once, early in the first quarter, but the Jaguars jumped back on top quickly and never slowed down.

More: Schedule, top players and more for the KHSAA Sixth Region girls basketball tournament

By the time Mercy head coach Nick Cann emptied his bench in the fourth quarter, the result had been sealed for some time.

“We wanted to come in, play fast, get up and down the floor and make some plays,” Cann said. “I was pleased.”

Thursday’s tilt was the third time Mercy had seen PRP this season, with the Jaguars also seizing victory in both of those games. Cann said his team wasn’t taking a win for granted coming in.

“They’ve really gotten better over the course of the year, that team deserves a lot of credit for getting better.” Cann said. “They’re competitive.”

The Leah Macy Show

Mercy’s freshman forward Macy was the team’s leading scorer entering Thursday’s clash. She kept it up against PRP, delivering 18 points.

“We were just using our cuts and screens,” Macy said. “That was a big thing for us at halftime. Just taking care of the ball and not rushing into anything.”

PRP’s defense was aggressive, and did not feature much switching or help. Macy was able to take advantage throughout the game.

More: What we learned as Bullitt East girls head to Sixth Region championship

She was a force on defense as well, collecting 13 of her 14 rebounds on that end of the floor.

“We tried to isolate her at the top as much as we could and let her go to work,” Cann said. “She’s really hard to stop.”

Macy made all six of her free throws and pitched in with two assists. She connected on six of her seven field goal attempts.

Other top contributors for the Jaguars included Emma Barnett, who chipped in with 13 points and four rebounds, and Mary Smith, who scored 12, including two three-pointers.

Breanna Jones led the way for PRP, scoring 15 points and pulling down seven rebounds.

Mercy's Alyssa Murphy dropped in two of her 8 points against the PRP defense during the 6th Region Girls semifinal at Valley High School. The Mercy Jaguars defeated the PRP Panthers, 75-44. March 3, 2022

Rubber math incoming

The win means the Jaguars will get another crack at Bullitt East, who dismantled Bullitt Central in Thursday’s early semifinal game. In their last meeting this season, the Cougars beat Mercy 60-55 in the 24th district championship.

In the regular season, the Jaguars took down Bullitt East in dominant fashion, 64-50 at home. The region championship game, scheduled for 7:00 p.m. on Saturday at Valley, will decide the season series, and who heads to Rupp Arena for the Sweet 16.

“They’re a great team.” Cann said. “We know them, they know us, so it ought to be a great game on Saturday night.”

Macy said the team was excited for a chance to avenge their loss.

“Each of us have beat each other once so this is going to be a big game on Saturday,” Macy said. “Going to state, this could be our last, but hopefully not, five more hopefully."

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: What we learned from Mercy's win over PRP in 6th Region semifinals

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Never in doubt

The Leah Macy Show

Rubber math incoming

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