Basketball Game Preview: Andover Central Jaguars vs. Newton Railroaders

The Andover Central Jaguars will square off against the Newton Railroaders at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Newton took a loss in their last match and will be looking to turn the tables on Andover Central, who comes in off a win.

It was a proper cat-fight when Andover Central challenged Goddard on Tuesday. Andover Central walked away with a 51-41 win over Goddard. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Jaguars.

Andover Central had a senior duo take command as Taylin Tabor went 6 for 15 on her way to 19 points along with eight rebounds and three steals and Emma Cooper dropped a double-double on 12 points and 11 boards. Those eight boards gave Tabor a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Reese Wilborn, who posted six points.

Meanwhile, Newton was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their 12th straight loss. They were beaten by Andover 66-18. While losing is never fun, the Railroaders can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Kansas basketball rankings (they are ranked 291st, while the Trojans are ranked 13th).

Andover Central has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four contests, which provided a nice bump to their 9-5 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 52.0 points per game. As for Newton, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-12.

Everything came up roses for Andover Central against Newton in their previous matchup back in January of 2021, as the team secured a 64-32 victory. In that game, Andover Central amassed a halftime lead of 39-14, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Friday.