vs
| 01/28/25 - Home | 31-39 L |
| 12/21/24 - Home | 54-31 W |
| 02/16/24 - Away | 47-32 W |
| 01/11/24 - Home | 52-35 W |
| 12/16/23 - Home | 54-24 W |
| + 5 more games |
Dove Creek is 9-1 against Nucla since December of 2022 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Saturday. The Dove Creek Bulldogs will challenge the Nucla Mustangs at 1:00 p.m. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Dove Creek is headed into the game after thoroughly thrashing Ouray: they outscored them in every quarter. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Dove Creek blew Ouray out of the water with a 50-8 final score. Given the Bulldogs' advantage in MaxPreps' Colorado basketball rankings (they are ranked 129th, while the Trojans are ranked 329th), the result on Tuesday wasn't entirely unexpected.
Dove Creek's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Taylor Hampton led the charge by putting up 18 points along with six boards and three steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Taylor Barry, who posted ten points in addition to eight steals and five rebounds.
Dove Creek smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 18 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 13 offensive boards in six consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, Nucla entered their tilt with Telluride on Friday with three consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with four. They claimed a resounding 52-12 win over the Miners. The contest was all but wrapped up at the end of the third, by which point the Mustangs had established a 29 point advantage.
Dove Creek better keep an eye on Kendra McCluer. She was instrumental in Nucla's win, posting 15 points along with seven boards and five steals. Another player making a difference was Darcy Bray, who earned four points in addition to ten rebounds and three steals.
Dove Creek is on a roll lately: they've won nine of their last ten games, which provided a nice bump to their 12-4 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 26.6 points over those games. As for Nucla, their victory was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 14-3.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Dove Creek has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 32.4 boards per game. However, it's not like Nucla struggles in that department as they've been averaging 34.5 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Dove Creek came up short against Nucla in their previous meeting last Tuesday, falling 39-31. Can Dove Creek avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
