Cardinals Win Streak Comes To An End

After a seven game win streak the Cardinals suffered a devastating loss last week.  Prior to the loss the Cardinals did pick up two wins.  The Cardinals started the week on the road at Grace for a rematch with the Grizzlies.  After defeating Grace at home earlier in the month Soda Springs earned the sweep over the Grizzlies last Tuesday.  For a more in-depth breakdown of that game check out the Grace article in this edition.

Following the win over Grace the Cardinals hosted Aberdeen.  The Tigers currently sit at the bottom of the conference making the Cardinals big favorites in this match up.  It did not take long for the Cardinals to grab control of this game.  Six different players would contribute to twenty-three first quarter points as Soda Springs jumped out to a large lead.  After building a nearly twenty point first half lead the Cardinals coaches mixed in several players through the rest of the game.  This gave several players opportunities to play in different situations with a variety of combinations.  The Cardinals easily cruised by the Tigers winning by eighteen points.

Soda Springs Konner McWilliams and Grace’s Chase Smith battle for a rebound.

 The Cardinals finished off the week hosting the Declo Hornets on Saturday.  Just two weeks prior to this game the Cardinals traveled to Declo and picked up an eight point win over the Hornets.  That game took place right in the middle of the Cardinals latest win streak.  A streak that they hoped would continue through the weekend.  Saturday’s game was a physical contest that seemed to better suit the Hornets.  The Cardinals struggled early and found themselves trailing early on.  A wild inbound pass by the Hornets led to a Thompson three that tied the game at the first quarter buzzer.  The physical play continued to impact the Cardinals in the second period.  The aggressive play led to some foul trouble for the Cardinals, in particular the aforementioned Thompson who ended up on the bench for much of the game.  In the second quarter the Cardinals also lost Mellor to an injury.  By the time halftime rolled around the Cardinals had fallen behind by five points.  In the third quarter the Hornets got hot shooting from outside.  Meanwhile the foul troubles continued for the Cardinals.  The lethal combo of Declo heating up and the Cardinals scoring struggles led to Soda Springs falling further behind.  The fourth quarter stayed pretty much the same.  The Cardinals could not make any headway as they watched the game slip away from them.  In the end the Cardinals fell by thirteen points.

The loss has once again tightened things up in the district standings.  Right now Wendell seems to have a hold on first place but everything else is wide open and will come down to the two final weeks of the regular season.  Soda Springs will head to Wendell on Wednesday for a huge game against the Trojans.  If they can pull off the upset it will really shake things up.  The Cardinals will then host Malad on Friday which will also be senior night for Soda Springs.

Cardinals 23 14 20 14 71

Tigers 10 10 18 15 53

G. Hansen 7, K. McWilliams 14, K. Harrison 2, C. Thompson 13, P. Ozburn 6, L. Mellor 2, J. Horsley 20, L. Martinsen 6, M. Browning 1

Cardinals 13 10 10 19 52

Hornets 13 15 17 20 65

G. Hansen 21, K. McWilliams 2, C. Thompson 9, P. Ozburn 5, J. Horsley 9, M. Browning 3