The Melrose Dutchmen will head out on the road to face off against the Upsala Cardinals at 7:15 p.m. on Thursday. Melrose is hoping to put an end to a nine-game streak of away losses dating back to last season.
Last Thursday, Melrose took a serious blow against West Central Area, falling 70-38. While losing is never fun, Melrose can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Minnesota basketball rankings (they are ranked 327th, while West Central Area is ranked 90th).
Meanwhile, Upsala's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Tuesday after their third straight loss. They fell to Ogilvie 63-59. Having run the score up that high, both teams probably have some extra defensive drills coming up.
Despite the loss, Upsala had strong showings from Isabel Ripplinger, who scored ten points along with five rebounds and five steals, and Hannah Heesen, who dropped a double-double on ten points and 11 rebounds. Ripplinger is absolutely dominating the steal category: she's posted at least two every time she's taken the court this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Isabelle Leners, who scored 11 points along with eight rebounds.
Even though they lost, Upsala were smashing the offensive glass and finished the game with 21 offensive rebounds. That's the most offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
Melrose's record now sits at 1-4. As for Upsala, they have traveled a rocky road recently, as they've lost five of their last six matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 2-6 record this season.
Melrose came out on top in a nail-biter against Upsala in their previous matchup back in January of 2022, sneaking past 50-47. The rematch might be a little tougher for Melrose since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
