McLaughlin is 1-6 against Winner since February of 2015 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The McLaughlin Mustangs' road trip will continue as they head out to face the Winner Warriors at 3:00 p.m. on February 9th. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the pair will really light up the scoreboard.
Last Thursday, even if it wasn't a dominant performance, McLaughlin beat Dupree 55-49.
It was another big night for Blake Thompson, who almost dropped a double-double on 27 points and nine steals. She continues to roll, besting her previous point total in each of the last three games she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Mari Richards, who scored six points along with three blocks and two steals.
Meanwhile, Winner stacked a tenth blowout win onto their ever-increasing hoard on Saturday. They really took it to Cheyenne-Eagle Butte for the full four quarters, racking up a 71-18 win at home. Winner's offense stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most points they've scored all season.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Winner to victory, but perhaps none more so than Ava Craven, who scored 16 points along with two steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Craven has scored all season. Karlee Brozik was another key contributor, scoring 12 points.
McLaughlin has been performing well recently as they've won ten of their last 12 contests, which provided a nice bump to their 12-4 record this season. As for Winner, they pushed their record up to 12-4 with that win, which was their sixth straight at home.
Friday's contest is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: McLaughlin have been dynamite from deep this season, having made 37.1% of their threes per game. However, it's not like Winner struggles in that department as they've made 38.9% of their threes this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
McLaughlin suffered a grim 62-38 defeat to Winner when the teams last played back in February of 2023. The game was all but decided by halftime, at which point McLaughlin was down 35-11.
