Basketball Game Preview: Rice Lake Warriors vs. Hudson Raiders

The Rice Lake Warriors will challenge the Hudson Raiders at 7:15 p.m. on Friday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: both posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.

Last Tuesday, Rice Lake didn't have too much trouble with River Falls as they won 56-37. Given the Warriors' advantage in MaxPreps' Wisconsin basketball rankings (they are ranked 37th, while the Wildcats are ranked 318th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Adaline Sheplee was her usual excellent self, going 16 of 22 on her way to 34 points along with eight rebounds and three steals. That makes it three consecutive games in which she has scored at least a third of Rice Lake's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Addison Schmidt, who went 6 for 15 en route to 13 points in addition to seven boards and five blocks.

Meanwhile, Hudson had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 26.5 points) and they went ahead and made it three on Tuesday. They breezed by the Tigers to the tune of 73-40. That's two games straight that the Raiders have won by exactly 33 points.

Hudson is on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight matches, which provided a nice bump to their 10-4 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 61.0 points per game. As for Rice Lake, they pushed their record up to 11-2 with the victory, which was their fifth straight on the road.

Rice Lake beat Hudson 60-48 in their previous meeting back in February of 2024. Does Rice Lake have another victory up their sleeve, or will Hudson turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.