Preview: Red Cloud Crusaders vs. Lead-Deadwood Golddiggers
Red Cloud is 8-1 against Lead-Deadwood since January of 2015, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Tuesday. The Red Cloud Crusaders will head out on the road to take on the Lead-Deadwood Golddiggers at 5:30 p.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Red Cloud has 19 straight victories, Lead-Deadwood has 35 straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Red Cloud stacked a 15th blowout win onto their ever-increasing hoard on Saturday. They really took it to Douglas for the full four quarters, racking up a 74-37 victory on the road. Given Red Cloud's advantage in MaxPreps' South Dakota basketball rankings (they are ranked 12th, while Douglas is ranked 127th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Red Cloud found their leader in underclassman Ashlan Carlow-Blount, who scored 17 points along with six assists and six rebounds. Carlow-Blount is crushing the steal category: she's posted at least two every time she's taken the court this season. Jodene Hunter was another key contributor, scoring 17 points along with four steals.
Meanwhile, Lead-Deadwood suffered a rough 61-38 loss at the hands of Little Wound on Saturday.
Red Cloud's victory was their sixth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 19-0. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 77.7 points per game. As for Lead-Deadwood, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-18.
Everything came up roses for Red Cloud against Lead-Deadwood in their previous meeting last Saturday as the team secured a 94-25 win. Will Red Cloud repeat their success, or does Lead-Deadwood have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
