Basketball Game Preview: South Shelby Cardinals vs. North Shelby Raiders

The South Shelby Cardinals will venture away from home to square off against the North Shelby Raiders at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. South Shelby is currently enjoying a perfect season and no doubt wants to keep things rolling.

Last Friday, South Shelby earned a 52-44 victory over California. Given the Cardinals' advantage in MaxPreps' Missouri basketball rankings (they are ranked eighth, while the Pintos are ranked 98th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Callie Mcwilliams

Steals

12/27/24 vs California	6
12/20/24 vs Brookfield	6
12/17/24 vs Canton	3
12/14/24 vs Palmyra	3
12/12/24 vs Monroe City	2

It was another big night for Callie Mcwilliams, who dropped a double-double on 17 points and 11 rebounds. She has been hot for a while, having also posted two or more steals the last 14 times she's played. Another player making a difference was Belle Roush, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and ten rebounds.

South Shelby smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive rebounds in six consecutive matches.

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for North Shelby, who bounced back after a loss on the road two weeks ago. Everything went their way against Brashear on Thursday as North Shelby made off with a 66-43 win. The Raiders have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won three games by 23 points or more this season.

With the victory, North Shelby broke their three-game losing streak and moved their record to 4-3. As for South Shelby, their win bumped their record up to 9-0.

South Shelby took their victory against North Shelby in their previous matchup back in December of 2023 by a conclusive 72-50. The rematch might be a little tougher for South Shelby since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.