Basketball Game Preview: Haxtun Fightin' Bulldogs vs. Sedgwick County Cougars

The Haxtun Fightin' Bulldogs will take on the Sedgwick County Cougars at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. The squads are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Haxtun has struggled recently with three defeats in a row, while Sedgwick County will arrive with 11 straight victories.

Haxtun fought the good fight in their overtime game against Caliche on Saturday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They took a 58-51 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Buffaloes.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Sedgwick County). They strolled past Burlington with points to spare on Saturday, taking the game 67-51.

Haxtun better focus on containing Lainee Nein and Abigail Dille as the pair were huge in Sedgwick County's win. Nein shot 5-for-5 from beyond the arc and dropped a double-double with 21 points and 13 boards, while Dille went 8-for-16 on her way to 23 points in addition to seven rebounds and five assists. With that strong performance, Dille is now averaging an impressive 15.4 points per game. Ryen Carlson was another key player, putting up six points.

Sedgwick County's win was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 14-3. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 57.0 points over those games. As for Haxtun, their loss dropped their record down to 8-11.

Haxtun was taken down by Sedgwick County 50-20 in their previous meeting back in January of 2024. Can Haxtun avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.