Soda Springs Celebrates A Radiance Of Cardinals

I learned something new this week when working on this article.  I researched what a group of Cardinals are called and I learned that they are sometimes referred to as a radiance due to their bright and vivid red color.  I thought that was the perfect description of the group of seniors that were honored last Friday night.  Prior to the game seven members of the boys basketball team were honored as they were escorted onto the floor by their parents in traditional fashion.  Then due to the large number of seniors the nine cheerleaders took their turn taking the walk onto the court at halftime.  It was quite impressive to see such a large group of seniors that have been involved in their athletic endeavors throughout their careers.  As they each took that final walk onto the court they each shone bright and vivid and their parents did radiate with pride.  Congratulations to the senior basketball team and cheerleaders.

Before playing their senior night game last Friday the Cardinals had to travel to Wendell to take on the conference leading Trojans.  If the Cardinals could have pulled off the win in that game it would have really shook things up going into the final week of the season.  Unfortunately that is not how it played out.  Right off the bat the Trojans took a ten point first quarter lead as the Cardinals were only able to put up five points to open the game.  The second quarter was very similar in its results and the Cardinals went into the halftime break with one of their lowest scores of the season.  In the third quarter Soda Springs was finally able to get a little scoring going.  In the third quarter alone the Cardinals matched their entire first half scoring.  However the Trojans were still able to outscore the Cardinals, building a substantial lead.  In the final quarter of the game the Cardinals made a run and put up their best numbers of the game.  The run brought the Cardinals closer to the Trojans to make the score look more respectable but never really threatened to even things up.  The Cardinals ended up losing that game by ten.  The Cardinals were without one of their top players Gavin Hansen in that game.

After the tough loss on the road the Cardinals returned home to take on Malad on senior night.  The Cardinals had beaten the Dragons earlier in the season in Malad coming away with a nine point win.  To keep in the running for a top three spot in the district tournament the Cardinals desperately needed a win on senior night.  Unfortunately the Dragons had other plans.  The Dragons came out red hot shooting from outside the ark.  In just the first half of play Malad hit seven three-point shots.  Meanwhile the shooting woes continued for Soda Springs.  They got plenty of good looks from outside but could only manage a single triple in the first half.  Despite being outscored twenty-one to three from beyond the arch the Cardinals only trailed by ten overall at the half.  To open up the third quarter the Cardinals applied some great defensive pressure and quickly cut the lead down to just three points.  After a quick timeout Malad regained their composure and used quick passing to get more looks at some long distance shots.  By the end of the third quarter the Dragons had built the lead back to eleven.  Every time the Cardinals made a run the Dragons had an answer.  Soda Springs failed to dig in to the lead and eventually fell by eleven.  

There is a ton of parody in the district this season.  Several of the teams have split their regular season matchups.  Heading into the final week of the season the Cardinals will travel to Aberdeen.  This is a favorable matchup for the Cardinals.  Currently riding a three game losing streak taking on a winless Aberdeen team is just what the Cardinals need to get back on track in time for the district tournament.  The way the district has played out this season it will all come down to which team has the hot hand and can apply the most defensive pressure.  Right now it feels like a state appearance is up for grabs.  The upcoming district tournament should be full of exciting games.  Get out and support the Cardinals as they make their argument for a state appearance.   

Cardinals 5 8 13 24 50

Trojans 15 20 20 5 60

K. Peterson 1, M. Browning 9, C. Hansen 1, C. Thompson 21, K. McWilliams 6, L. Mellor 2, J. Horsley 6, L. Martinsen 2, P. Ozburn 2

Cardinals 6 13 15 12 46

Dragons 13 16 16 12 57

M. Browning 2, C. Thompson 19, G. Hansen 13 K. McWilliams 2, J. Horsley 5, L. Martinsen 5