The McCool Junction Mustangs waltzed into their matchup Friday with three straight wins but they left with four. They were the clear victor by a 62-40 margin over Shelby-Rising City. McCool Junction might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team's won three games by 22 points or more this season.
McCool Junction's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Shelby Bandt, who scored 12 points along with seven rebounds and four steals. Those seven rebounds set a new season-high mark for her. Another player making a difference was Claire Brugger, who scored ten points along with six rebounds and three steals.
Shelby-Rising City's loss came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Ava Larmon, who dropped a double-double on 19 points and ten rebounds. Those 19 points set a new season-high mark for her. Taya Pinneo was another key contributor, scoring 12 points along with six steals.
McCool Junction pushed their record up to 4-1 with that victory, which was their 14th straight at home dating back to last season. They've been dominating during the matches in that stretch too, as they've won by an average of 28.71 points. As for Shelby-Rising City, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-3.
Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. McCool Junction won't have much time to rest: their next contest is against Heartland at 3:30 p.m. on December 16th. Heartland will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Nebraska Rankings (they are ranked 221st, while McCool Junction is ranked 37th). As for Shelby-Rising City, they will head out on the road to face off against High Plains at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Hopefully High Plains focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 20 on Friday.
