The Medicine Valley Raiders will face off against the Mullen Broncos at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday. Medicine Valley has a tough task ahead: they'll enter the matchup with five straight losses, while Mullen will come in with five straight victories.
Medicine Valley is headed into the game out to prove that what happened against Dundy County-Stratton on Thursday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Medicine Valley took a blow against Dundy County-Stratton, falling 55-21. The Raiders were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 33-3.
| 01/16/25 vs Dundy County-Stratton | 7 |
| 12/14/24 vs Wauneta-Palisade | 6 |
| 12/09/23 vs Decatur Community | 5 |
| 01/11/24 @ Dundy County-Stratton | 5 |
| 02/01/24 @ Wauneta-Palisade | 5 |
Medicine Valley's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Haylie Gustafson, who went 5 for 10 on her way to 10 points and six rebounds, and Kamree Elsten, who posted four points along with seven boards and three steals. Those seven rebounds gave Elsten a new career-high.
Even though they lost, Medicine Valley smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in four consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, you're bound to get a positive result if you outscore your opponent every quarter, and that's exactly how it played out for Mullen on Thursday. They were the clear victor by a 45-21 margin over Arthur County. The Broncos have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won four matchups by 24 points or more this season.
Medicine Valley better focus on containing Jenna Donohoe and Hayley Donohoe as the pair were huge in Mullen's win. Jenna put up four points in addition to ten steals and six boards, while Hayley went 7 of 16 en route to 15 points along with five rebounds and four steals. Hayley has been hot for a while, having posted two or more steals the last ten times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Georgia Wingebach, who earned five points.
Mullen's win bumped their record up to 8-1. As for Medicine Valley, their loss dropped their record down to 1-11.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Medicine Valley has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 33.3 boards per game. However, it's not like Mullen struggles in that department as they've been averaging 31.4 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Medicine Valley beat Mullen 46-35 when the teams last played back in January of 2024. The rematch might be a little tougher for Medicine Valley since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
