Musketeers fall by three points to Warriors
by Jordan Schneider
After a long week off, the Musketeers played the Wesclin Warriors last Friday. Red Bud knew it was going to be a tough game playing at the Warrior’s home court.

The first quarter began with both teams playing poor defense. Wesclin started getting stops in their zone defense, while Red Bud could  not buy a stop. At the end of the first quarter, Wesclin was on top with a score of 18-13.

In the second quarter, the Musketeers locked the Warriors down on defense. They only allowed nine points in the quarter and at the end of the first half, Red Bud was down by one, 27-26.

After halftime, Red Bud looked out of synch. Wesclin was able to take a nine point advantage. Fortunately for the Musketeers, they were able to go on a nice run to end the third quarter, 41-36, Wesclin.

In the fourth, Red Bud was unable to pull away and get the win. They tied the game late in the fourth, but little things killed the Musketeers. The final score was 61-58, Wesclin.

Jacob Kueker led the scoring with 20 points and six rebounds. Jordan Schneider scored 16 points; Garrett Salger had 11; Kenny Wilson contributed six; Alex Phegley, three and Travis Schwartz, two points.

“Wesclin has had an up-and-down season, but they have some good players. After having beaten them at our place back in mid-December, we anticipated a good shot from them and unfortunately for us they played well.  We had trouble all night getting stops -- for the game they shot over 50% from the field (22-41).  We had some mistakes in guarding them both in man and zone and they capitalized on that,” Coach Dave Gillingham stated.  

Regionals start Monday
by Tori Albert
On Jan. 25, Red Bud was host to the Steeleville Warriors for their first and only time this season. Pushing the ball on offense and forcing the Warriors to turn the ball over were the keys to the game.

Red Bud came out with much confidence and seemed eager to beat the Warriors. The ladies wanted to put a beating on Steeleville and show them who is boss. Aggressive rebounding, attacking the basket and quick ball movement allowed Red Bud to soar ahead of Steeleville. Everybody played a part in the game, too. Since Red Bud was up 34-6 at the half, all team members got into the game early in the second half, which was enjoyed by all the girls. Even with everybody rotating in and out, Red Bud continued to rack up the score. Steeleville didn’t stand a chance at this point. The Lady Musketeers sealed the deal with a 67-26 victory.

Ali Ringering poured in 17 points; Tara Hubert added nine; Becky Koopman added eight; Tori Albert, seven; Grace Richards and Tiff Henry had six each; Dany Gargac and Fithian each scored four; Abbey Brundage and Emily Harms, three each.

Next for the week, the Lady Musketeers took a long journey to Wesclin High School to face the Warriors for the second time this season. Red Bud defeated the Warriors the last time, but the Warriors had full capability of taking this win. Red Bud wasn’t about to let that happen. Rebounding was the biggest concern for this game, so it had to be done.