The Nucla Mustangs will face off against the Ridgway Demons at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both teams are coming into the match red-hot, with Nucla sitting on five straight wins and Ridgway on six.
Nucla is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. Everything went their way against Dove Creek on Saturday as Nucla made off with a 70-49 victory. The Mustangs have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 11 games by 21 points or more this season.
Kendra McCluer
| 02/08/25 vs Dove Creek | 17 |
| 02/07/25 @ Telluride | 15 |
| 01/30/25 vs Mancos | 11 |
| 01/28/25 @ Dove Creek | 2 |
| 01/24/25 vs Dolores | 11 |
| + 13 more games |
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Nucla to victory, but perhaps none more so than Kendra McCluer, who posted 17 points along with five rebounds and five steals. McCluer continues to improve, besting her previous point total in each of the last three games she's played. Cadence Shaw was another key player, putting up eight points and four steals.
Nucla smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 16 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in 33 consecutive contests dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, Ridgway didn't have too much trouble with Crested Butte on Friday as they won 43-24.
Ridgway's win came from a few key players Nucla will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Maddie Miller, who scored 11 points in addition to five boards and four steals. She is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in the last ten games she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Sophia Scranton, who dropped a double-double on 13 points and ten steals.
Ridgway pushed their record up to 9-6 with the win, which was their fourth straight on the road. The wins came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 26.5 points over those games. As for Nucla, their record now sits at 15-3.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Nucla has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 34.3 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Ridgway struggles in that department as they've been averaging 26.5 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Nucla beat Ridgway 38-29 in their previous meeting back in January. The rematch might be a little tougher for Nucla since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
