Basketball Game Preview: Lincoln Southeast Knights vs. Millard West Wildcats

The Lincoln Southeast Knights will face off against the Millard West Wildcats at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday.

Lincoln Southeast is likely headed into the contest with a focus on the second half, which is when things went downhill against Millard North on Tuesday. Lincoln Southeast took a 50-40 hit to the loss column at the hands of Millard North. While losing is never fun, the Knights can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 97th, while the Mustangs are ranked fifth).

Meanwhile, Millard West came tearing into Tuesday's matchup with 19 straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 27.7 points), and they left with even more momentum. They blew past the Titans 65-37. The Wildcats have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 15 games by 20 points or more this season.

Lincoln Southeast better keep an eye on Neleigh Gessert. She was instrumental in Millard West's win, going 6-for-15 en route to 20 points in addition to seven boards and four steals. Gessert has been hot recently, having also posted two or more blocks the last four times she's played. Another player making a difference was Kylee Paben, who went 5-for-11 to rack up 15 points and seven rebounds.

Millard West was working as a unit and finished the game with 19 assists. They racked up eight more assists than Papillion-LaVista South's also-impressive total of 11.

Millard West pushed their record up to 22-1 with the win, which was their 22nd straight at home dating back to last season. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 63.1 points over those games. As for Lincoln Southeast, they have been struggling recently as they've lost four of their last five contests, which has put a noticeable dent in their 7-13 record this season.

Lincoln Southeast beat Millard West 53-45 in their previous meeting back in January of 2023. Will Lincoln Southeast repeat their success, or does Millard West have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.