Basketball Recap: Ainsworth Takes Loss Despite Strong Performances from Willa Flynn and Gracyn Painter

After flying high against Hyannis last Tuesday, Ainsworth came back down to earth. The Ainsworth Bulldogs lost to the Niobrara/Verdigre Cougars on the road by a 50-34 margin on Thursday. While losing is never fun, the Bulldogs can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 221st, while the Cougars are ranked 102nd).

Ainsworth's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Gracyn Painter, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and 11 boards, and Willa Flynn, who posted nine points and six rebounds. That was a full 35.3% of Ainsworth's points, marking the third time in a row she's put up more than a third of the team's points. Puridy Haley also deserves some recognition as she posted her first block of the season.

vs

Previous 1 Games

01/30/25 - Away

34-50 L

Even though they lost, Ainsworth smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 12 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive rebounds in seven consecutive matches.

Niobrara/Verdigre's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Allison Sucha led the charge by dropping a double-double on ten points and ten rebounds. Sucha is becoming a predictor of Niobrara/Verdigre's success: when she posts at least ten boards the team is 11-3 (and 1-2 when she doesn't). Another player making a difference was Eve Kucera, who dropped a double-double on 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Ainsworth's defeat dropped their record down to 4-12. As for Niobrara/Verdigre, they are on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last ten contests, which provided a nice bump to their 12-5 record this season.

Ainsworth will welcome Sandhills/Thedford at 6:00 p.m. on February 7th. As for Niobrara/Verdigre, they wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next game, a 65-48 win against Santee on the 1st.