Red Mesa is 0-10 against the Cardinals since January of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Saturday. The Red Mesa Redskins will head out on the road to face off against the St. Michael Cardinals at 11:00 a.m. Both teams come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Last Thursday, in a tight game that could have gone either way, Red Mesa made off with a 52-51 victory over the. The win made it back-to-back wins for Red Mesa.
Red Mesa's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Daleni Nakai, who dropped a double-double on 19 points and 11 rebounds. Nakai hasn't dropped below two steals for three straight games. The team also got some help courtesy of Shyla Pipkin, who dropped a double-double on 20 points and 11 rebounds.
Meanwhile, St. Michael came tearing into Thursday's contest with nine straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 21.7 points) and they left with even more momentum. They put the hurt on Grand Canyon with a sharp 58-32 win. Given St. Michael's advantage in MaxPreps' Arizona basketball rankings (they are ranked 108th, while the Phantoms are ranked 256th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Red Mesa's victory ended a four-game drought on the road and puts them at 15-12. As for St. Michael, their win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 19-10.
Red Mesa came up short against the Cardinals when the teams last played back in January, falling 39-30. Can Red Mesa avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
