Basketball Game Preview: Rice Lake Warriors vs. Eau Claire Memorial Old Abes

Rice Lake is 2-8 against Eau Claire Memorial since February of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Rice Lake Warriors will look to defend their home court against the Eau Claire Memorial Old Abes at 7:15 p.m. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with Rice Lake sitting on three straight victories and Eau Claire Memorial on ten.

Last Monday, Rice Lake was able to grind out a solid win over Amery, taking the game 53-42. Given Rice Lake's advantage in MaxPreps' Wisconsin basketball rankings (they are ranked 24th, while Amery is ranked 137th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Rice Lake's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Addison Schmidt, who dropped a double-double on 22 points and 16 boards, and Adaline Sheplee, who dropped a double-double on 18 points and ten boards. The matchup was Schmidt's seventh in a row with at least ten points. Sydney Schradle was another key player, putting up four points and nine rebounds.

Rice Lake smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 17 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive rebounds in 11 consecutive contests.

Meanwhile, Eau Claire Memorial strolled past Marshfield with points to spare on Tuesday, taking the game 57-38.

Eau Claire Memorial pushed their record up to 10-1 with the victory, which was their sixth straight at home dating back to last season. As for Rice Lake, their win bumped their record up to an identical 10-1.

Rice Lake ended up a good deal behind Eau Claire Memorial when the teams last played back in February of 2024, losing 64-48. Will Rice Lake have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other basketball content.