Preview: Niangua Cardinals vs. New Covenant Academy Warriors
Niangua is 2-8 against the Warriors since January of 2015 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Niangua Cardinals will be playing at home against the New Covenant Academy Warriors at 6:00 p.m. The timing is sure in Niangua's favor as the team sits on nine straight wins at home (dating back to last season) while the Warriors have been banged up by four consecutive losses on the road.
Niangua put the finishing touches on their seventh blowout victory of the season on Tuesday. They breezed by Conway at home to the tune of 80-47. Given Niangua's advantage in MaxPreps' Missouri basketball rankings (they are ranked 94th, while the Bears are ranked 321st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Niangua's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Clayton Henderson, who scored 26 points along with five rebounds. Henderson hasn't dropped below 17 points for four straight games. Another player making a difference was Tanier Dunn, who scored 19 points along with two steals and two blocks.
Meanwhile, New Covenant Academy came up short against the Patriots on Tuesday and fell 62-50.
Niangua is on a roll lately: they've won nine of their last ten matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 15-2 record this season. As for New Covenant Academy, they have traveled a rocky road recently having lost six of their last seven contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 3-10 record this season.
Niangua strolled past the Warriors in their previous matchup back in February of 2023 by a score of 57-39. Will Niangua repeat their success, or do the Warriors have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
