"We played our best game of the season on Friday with a really tough road win, it was a great team-effort," Shelton said. "We took care of the basketball well at the end of the game, which had troubled us in a few early season losses."

The Saints threatened the RedHawks with a 13-0 run to tie up the game at halftime. After the break, the RedHawks went on a 6-0 run, but their post players continued to experience major foul trouble, so Shelton looked to the bench. The Saints came back to take the lead once more, but it wouldn't last long. Juliette Keller had an outstanding game totaling 19 points, including 5 of 7 from the 3-point range. Despite the fouls, Sharon Houston still had a good game with 18 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 blocks. Jenelle Kapelinski scored 13 points.

Saturday's game was a completely different story. The girls traveled an hour and a half to Dubuque, Iowa to play the Clarke College Crusaders less than 24 hours after Friday's game ended. They seemed lethargic on the court and were easily bested by the Crusaders 58-39. Shelton characterized it as the "easily our poorest effort of the season."

The RedHawks only shot 29 percent throughout the game, and they had 28 turnovers. The Crusaders led in every category. They out-rebounded the RedHawks 42 to 39 and led in assists 23 to 5.

"All players need to realize that when you have a quick turnaround like that, your legs may be a bit heavier," Shelton said. "The same shots we took the night before, simply didn't fall for us today."

Sharon Houston led the RedHawks offensively with 24 points, 13 rebounds, and 6 blocks. The second leading scorer was Juliette Keller with 6 points on just 2 of 11 shooting from the field.

"It was really tough to find the energy the second day, but we can't use that as an excuse," Shelton said. "Clarke came to play, and we simply didn't."

The RedHawks will be back home tomorrow night to play against Goshen College. Tip is set for 5:30 pm.

By Northwest Phoenix Editor-in-Chief: Don Sjoerdsma