The Nucla Mustangs will look to defend their home court on Tuesday against the Ridgway Demons at 4:00 p.m. Hopefully Nucla focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 25 on Thursday.
Nucla's recent rough patch got a bit rougher after their third straight loss. They took a 52-35 bruising from Dove Creek. That's two games in a row now that Nucla has lost by exactly 17 points.
Even though the team lost, they still had their share of impressive performances. One of the most dominant came from Lantry Galley, who scored 11 points along with five rebounds and two steals. Kendra McCluer was another key contributor, scoring eight points along with six rebounds.
Meanwhile, Ridgway scored the most points they've had all season to find success on Saturday. They were the clear victor by a 55-32 margin over Dolores. The win made it back-to-back wins for Ridgway.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Ridgway to victory, but perhaps none more so than Sophia Scranton, who scored 11 points along with seven assists and five steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Scranton has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Maddie Miller, who scored 15 points along with five assists and five rebounds.
Nucla's loss was their third straight on the road, which bumped their record down to 4-6. That rough patch could be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they only averaged 26.3 points per game. As for Ridgway, they now have a winning record of 4-3.
Tuesday's game is shaping up to be a scrappy contest: Nucla have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 27.9 rebounds per game. It's a different story for Ridgway, though, as they've been averaging only 30.1 rebounds per game. Given Nucla's sizeable advantage in that area, Ridgway will need to find a way to close that gap.
Everything went Nucla's way against Ridgway in their previous matchup back in January of 2023 as Nucla made off with a 49-29 victory. With Nucla ahead 34-9 at the half, the match was all but over already.
