After flying high against the Long Prairie-Grey Eagle Thunder last Thursday, the Upsala Cardinals came back down to earth. Upsala took a 60-51 hit to the loss column at the hands of Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa on Tuesday. Upsala lost against Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa in their previous head to head back in January, too, but the margin this time around was much closer than the 76-39 score last time.
When it comes to explaining why Upsala lost, one person who can't be blamed is Samantha Pilarski. Despite the final result, she scored 20 points along with seven rebounds and four steals. That's the first time this season that Pilarski scored 15 or more points. Another player making a difference was Isabel Ripplinger, who scored eight points along with four steals.
Upsala's defeat was their third straight at home, which bumped their record down to 2-4. As for Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa, their win bumped their record up to 4-1.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Upsala will square off against Osakis at 7:15 p.m. on Friday. As for Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa, they will head out on the road to face off against Paynesville at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are ranked near one another in Minnesota (Paynesville is ranked 124th, while Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa is ranked 122nd).
