With the MRVC West Girls Tournament on the horizon this week, Lady Cardinals basketball, bringing a strong 4-2 record into their second stint of tournament action in just two-weeks, looks to continue their hot start their year against Oak Grove in the MRVC opening play. Meanwhile, Oak Grove (3-3), enters the matchup with some fire themselves as they look to edge above .500 for the first time this year, setting the stage for an early statement win opportunity for both teams. For the Lady Cards, who have found a way to close out tight games early in the year, a big key this week will be shots from the stripe, where the team has held strong to start the season. A stingy and active defense continues to be key to the team’s early success at well, with a timely steal late helping the team to surge past Archie (2-1) 48-46 on the road this past week, bringing the team to 4-1 before being topped by Nevada (4-2) in a consecutive road matchup the following night. While the team didn’t get the win, the loss was only the Cardinals 2nd on the road to start the year, bringing their overall road record 3-2, with the team’s only other road loss coming after nearly running the table last week before faltering in championship play against top-seeded Skyline at last week’s 35th Annual Warsaw Girl's Basketball Tournament. Despite losing the championship, the Lady Cards were able to secure 2nd place gold with loss. This week, they look to push a little further.
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After paying a visit to Archie (3-1) this past week, securing a 55-45 road win to bring the team back to .500 on the year, Cardinals basketball looks to build momentum his week as the team hosts the MRVC West Boys Tournament.
For the Cardinals (3-3), who have an opening tilt against Odessa to begin tournament play this week, the home-court advantage looms large as the team looks to edge above .500 for the first time this year. Odessa meanwhile, sitting at 2-3 to start the year, will look to spoil the fun for the hometown team to get back to .500.
For the Cardinals, who are 3-2 since opening the year with a nail-biting buzzer-to-buzzer loss at Knob Noster 54-57, the opportunity to make a push this week couldn’t be much better, especially in front of a hometown crowd.
