Basketball Game Preview: St. Mary's Cardinals vs. Niobrara/Verdigre Cougars

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Previous Games

12/10/24 - Home	49-34 W
02/01/24 - Away	71-56 W
12/05/23 - Away	55-44 W
02/04/23 - Away	49-41 W
12/06/22 - Home	59-56 W
+ 5 more games

St. Mary is 8-2 against Niobrara/Verdigre since December of 2018 and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Monday. A feisty cat fight is on tap when the St. Mary's Cardinals challenge the Niobrara/Verdigre Cougars at 6:00 p.m. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with St. Mary's sitting on 12 straight wins and Niobrara/Verdigre on three.

St. Mary's will head into Saturday's match hoping to keep the good times rolling: they had to skate by with only a two-point margin when they last took the court, which might have inspired the 41-point drubbing they dealt Boyd County on Saturday. St. Mary's blew past Boyd County, posting a 61-20 victory. The Cardinals have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won ten contests by 23 points or more this season.

St. Mary's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Adyson Peterson, who went 8 for 19 en route to 23 points and three steals. Another player making a difference was Gracie Williamson, who went 6 of 7 on her way to 16 points along with five boards and four steals.

Meanwhile, Niobrara/Verdigre strolled past Santee with points to spare on Saturday, taking the game 65-48.

Niobrara/Verdigre's win came from a few key players St. Mary's will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Delani Runnels, who went 10 for 21 en route to 29 points in addition to seven rebounds and three steals. The dominant performance gave her a new career-high in points. Taylen Stark was another key player, almost dropping a double-double on 21 points and nine steals.

St. Mary's win bumped their record up to 18-1. As for Niobrara/Verdigre, they have also been performing well recently as they've won nine of their last 11 games, which provided a nice bump to their 13-5 record this season.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: St. Mary's has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 30 boards per game. However, it's not like Niobrara/Verdigre struggles in that department as they've been averaging 32.1 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.

St. Mary's strolled past Niobrara/Verdigre when the teams last played back in December of 2024 by a score of 49-34. The rematch might be a little tougher for St. Mary's since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.