The New Knoxville Rangers's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Monday after their fourth straight defeat. They suffered a tough 46-25 loss at the hands of Russia. While losing is never fun, New Knoxville can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 649th, while the Raiders are ranked 237th).
Lauren Wingler and Addi Albers certainly did their best on Monday to avoid the loss. Wingler scored seven points along with two steals, while Albers scored 11 points along with six rebounds and three steals. That was a full 44% of New Knoxville's points, marking the third time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points.
New Knoxville dropped their record down to 2-16 with that loss, which was their 15th straight on the road dating back to last season. That rough patch could be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they only averaged 27.0 points per game. As for Russia, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven matchups, which provided a massive bump to their 10-8 record this season.
Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. New Knoxville will take on the Cardinals at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. New Bremen and the Rangers are at an even 5-5 over their past ten head-to-heads. As for Russia, their homestand continues as they prepare to take on the Trojans at 11:30 a.m. on February 3rd.
