Red Cloud hasn't had much luck against Alma recently, but that could start to change on Saturday. Having just played yesterday, the Red Cloud Warriors will head out on the road to face off against the Alma Cardinals at 6:00 p.m. Red Cloud is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 51.6 points per game this season.
On Friday, Red Cloud came up short against Shelton and fell 59-52.
| 12/20/24 @ Shelton | 34 |
| 12/06/24 vs Lawrence-Nelson | 26 |
| 12/01/23 @ Lawrence-Nelson | 21 |
| 02/16/24 vs Franklin | 19 |
| 12/14/24 vs Sumner-Eddyville-Miller | 18 |
Despite the defeat, Red Cloud got top-tier performance from Gage Ely, who dropped a double-double on 34 points and ten rebounds. The dominant performance gave Ely a new career-high in points. The team also got some help courtesy of Conner Rust, who went 5 of 8 on his way to 11 points.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Alma). They simply couldn't be stopped on Tuesday as they easily beat Southwest 63-33. Winning may never get old, but the Cardinals sure are getting used to it with their third in a row.
Red Cloud better focus on containing Tucker Biskup and Isaiah Neal as the pair were huge in Alma's win. Biskup went 6 of 11 on his way to 16 points along with eight boards and five assists, while Neal posted 15 points in addition to five rebounds and four steals. With that strong performance, Neal is now averaging an impressive 2.2 steals per game. The team also got some help courtesy of Zavier Mitchell, who went 6 of 12 on his way to 12 points.
Alma was working as a unit and finished the game with 16 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Southwest only racked up seven assists.
Alma's win bumped their record up to 5-1. As for Red Cloud, their loss dropped their record down to 3-2.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Red Cloud has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 32.2 boards per game. However, it's not like Alma struggles in that department as they've been averaging 39.5 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Red Cloud came up short against Alma in their previous matchup back in December of 2023, falling 49-36. Can Red Cloud avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
