Basketball Game Preview: LaCrosse Leopards vs. Otis-Bison Cougars

LaCrosse has gone 9-1 against Otis-Bison recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Thursday. The LaCrosse Leopards will square off against the Otis-Bison Cougars at 3:30 p.m. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.

LaCrosse is headed into the matchup having just suffered their biggest loss since January 23, 2024 on Monday. They came up short against Pratt, falling 55-33. The Leopards have struggled against the Greenbacks recently, as the game was their third consecutive lost matchup.

LaCrosse's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Madison Morgan, who posted 17 points along with five rebounds and three steals, and Molly Showalter, who earned seven points in addition to nine boards and five steals. The dominant performance gave Showalter a new career-high in rebounds.

Even though they lost, LaCrosse smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 18 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in 21 consecutive games dating back to last season.

Meanwhile, Otis-Bison came up short against Ellinwood on Tuesday and fell 41-28. While losing is never fun, the Cougars can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Kansas basketball rankings (they are ranked 293rd, while the Eagles are ranked 91st).

LaCrosse's loss dropped their record down to 5-4. As for Otis-Bison, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 3-6.

Everything came up roses for LaCrosse against Otis-Bison in their previous meeting on Friday, as the team secured a 45-6 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for LaCrosse since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.