Preview: Mineral County Serpents vs. Coleville Wolves
The Mineral County Serpents will look to defend their home court on Friday against the Coleville Wolves at 6:00 p.m. Mineral County has now lost seven straight, and the team is hunting for their first win since December 2.
Mineral County suffered their biggest loss since December 1, 2023 on Saturday. They had to suffer through a rough 66-25 loss at the hands of Sage Ridge. Mineral County found out winning isn't easy when you don't work as a unit and post nine fewer assists than your opponent.
Taiylor Sanchez put forth a good effort for the losing side as she scored seven points along with seven steals. She hasn't dropped below two steals for four straight games. The team also got some help courtesy of Jayona Kimmins, who scored seven points along with six rebounds and four steals.
Meanwhile, Coleville didn't have too much breathing room in their match against Smith Valley on Tuesday, but they still walked away with a 35-31 win. The win was just what Coleville needed coming off of a 68-43 loss in their prior match.
Coleville got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Kaelyn Lange out in front who dropped a double-double on 12 rebounds and 14 steals. Lange has been hot recently, having posted eight or more rebounds the last seven times she's played. Stephanie Gutierrez-Rodriguez was another key contributor, scoring 14 points along with six steals.
Mineral County's loss was their ninth straight on the road, which dropped their record down to 2-11. As for Coleville, they are on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five matches, which provided a nice bump to their 8-5 record this season.
Friday's game is shaping up to be a scrappy matchup: Mineral County haven't given up the ball easily this season, having only averaged 4.9 turnovers per game. It's a different story for Coleville, though, as they've been averaging 24.3 turnovers per game. Given Mineral County's sizeable advantage in that area, Coleville will need to find a way to close that gap.
Mineral County was dealt a bruising 61-6 loss at the hands of Coleville when the teams last played back in December of 2021. Thankfully for Mineral County, Alex Sanchez (who scored 15 points along with four steals) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
