Basketball Game Preview: Shaker Heights Red Raiders vs. Mentor Cardinals

Shaker Heights is 1-9 against Mentor since December of 2016 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Shaker Heights Red Raiders will look to defend their home court against the Mentor Cardinals at 6:00 p.m. Mentor took a loss in their last contest and will be looking to turn the tables on Shaker Heights, who comes in off a win.

Shaker Heights is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They were the clear victor by a 68-45 margin over North on Wednesday. The score was close at the half, but the Red Raiders pulled away in the second half with 41 points.

Meanwhile, after a string of four wins, Mentor's good fortune finally ran out on Wednesday. They took a 45-36 hit to the loss column at the hands of Medina. The matchup marked the Cardinals' lowest-scoring game so far this season.

Shaker Heights' win ended an 18-game drought on the road dating back to last season and puts them at 8-11. As for Mentor, their defeat dropped their record down to 13-5.

Shaker Heights lost to Mentor at home by a decisive 56-41 margin when the teams last played back in December of 2024. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Mentor's Nina Rodriguez, who went 8 of 17 on her way to 22 points and four steals. Now that Shaker Heights knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.