vs
| 01/06/24 - Home | 67-29 W |
| 01/07/23 - Away | 55-61 L |
| 01/08/22 - Home | 58-38 W |
| 01/07/21 - Away | 81-49 W |
| 01/11/20 - Away | 60-36 W |
| + 5 more games |
Norfolk is 9-1 against South Sioux City since January of 2015 and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Saturday. Having just played yesterday, the Norfolk Panthers will head out on the road to face off against the South Sioux City Cardinals at 2:30 p.m. The two teams have had a bumpy ride up to this point with four consecutive losses for Norfolk and three for South Sioux City.
On Friday, Norfolk came up short against Omaha Northwest and fell 54-47.
Despite the defeat, Norfolk had strong showings from Damien Jones, who posted eight points and seven rebounds, and Drew Streich, who put up 15 points and five rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Ty Pinkelman, who had five points.
Meanwhile, it's never fun to lose, and it's even less fun to lose 80-40, which was the final score in South Sioux City's tilt against Sioux City East on Tuesday. While losing is never fun, the Cardinals can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 210th in Nebraska, while the Black Raiders are ranked 37th in Iowa).
Norfolk will need focus on slowing down Jamison Housman, one of several South Sioux City players who made an impact when they last played. He earned 12 points. Another player making a difference was Jaden Painter, who posted nine points and six rebounds.
Norfolk's loss dropped their record down to 2-8. As for South Sioux City, their defeat dropped their record down to 4-8.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Norfolk has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 23.1 boards per game. However, it's not like South Sioux City struggles in that department as they've been averaging 28 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Everything came up roses for Norfolk against South Sioux City when the teams last played back in January of 2024, as the squad secured a 67-29 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Norfolk since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
