Preview: Erie Tigers vs. Mountain Range Mustangs
The Erie Tigers will be playing in front of their home fans against the Mountain Range Mustangs at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Hopefully Erie focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 13 on Friday.
Last Friday, Erie faced Horizon in a battle between two of the state's top teams. Erie took a 49-40 hit to the loss column at the hands of Horizon. The result shouldn't come as a shock considering that's the fewest points Erie has scored all season.
Maddie Hartel put forth a good effort for the losing side as she scored 11 points along with three steals. Alexandria Ridenour was another key contributor, scoring four points along with eight rebounds and two steals.
Even though Mountain Range has not done well against Brighton recently (they were 2-7 in their previous nine matchups), they didn't let the past get in their way on Friday. Mountain Range walked away with a 54-42 win over Brighton. The win was just what Mountain Range needed coming off of a 70-41 loss in their prior contest.
Mountain Range found their leader in underclassman Delilah Lucero, who scored 16 points along with seven assists and seven rebounds. Lucero is absolutely dominating the steal category: she's posted at least two every time she's taken the court this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Josieraye Running Wolf, who scored 13 points along with nine rebounds and three steals.
This is the second loss in a row for Erie and nudges their season record down to 7-3. As for Mountain Range, they now have a winning record of 6-5.
Tuesday's contest is shaping up to be a scrappy match: Erie have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 25.7 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Mountain Range struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 34 rebounds per game. Given Erie's sizeable advantage in that area, Mountain Range will need to find a way to close that gap.
Everything came up roses for Erie against Mountain Range when the teams last played back in January of 2023 as the team secured a 76-29 win. With Erie ahead 39-11 at the half, the contest was all but over already.
