The Harding County Ranchers will take on the Hitchcock-Tulare Patriots at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday. Harding County will be coming into the contest with an undefeated record on the line.
Last Thursday, Harding County was fully in charge, breezing past Sundance 68-36. The Ranchers have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won five games by 25 points or more this season.
| 01/16/25 @ Sundance | 9 |
| 02/06/24 @ Dupree | 5 |
| 01/11/25 vs Faith | 5 |
| 02/03/24 vs Lemmon | 5 |
| 01/07/25 vs Hettinger/Scranton | 4 |
Harding County's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Macey Wendt led the charge by almost dropping a double-double on ten points and nine steals. Those nine steals gave Wendt a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Bailey Rae Verhulst, who went 6 of 10 en route to 14 points and five steals.
Harding County was working as a unit and finished the game with 16 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Sundance only posted three assists.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Hitchcock-Tulare). They came out on top against Iroquois/Lake Preston by a score of 47-34 on Thursday.
Harding County better keep an eye on Katelyn Schroeder. She was instrumental in Hitchcock-Tulare's win, almost dropping a triple-double on 17 points, nine rebounds, and nine steals. With that strong performance, Schroeder is now averaging an impressive 2.5 steals per game. The team also got some help courtesy of Emmerie Arthurs, who went 6 for 10 on her way to 14 points and three steals.
Harding County pushed their record up to 7-0 with the victory, which was their 11th straight on the road dating back to last season. As for Hitchcock-Tulare, the win got them back to even at 4-4.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Harding County has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 34 boards per game. However, it's not like Hitchcock-Tulare struggles in that department as they've been averaging 26 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other basketball content.
