Preview: Lincoln Southwest Silver Hawks vs. Omaha North Vikings
Lincoln Southwest is 3-0 against Omaha North since January of 2015, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Thursday. Both teams will face off at 5:30 p.m. on December 14th without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. Lincoln Southwest is looking to tack on another W to their eight-game streak on the road dating back to last season.
Last Saturday, even if it wasn't a dominant performance, Lincoln Southwest beat Millard South 47-41. Given Lincoln Southwest's advantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 36th, while Millard South is ranked 229th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
It was another big night for Kennadi Williams, who scored 18 points. The game was her third in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Hayden Rathe, who scored seven points along with six rebounds.
Meanwhile, Omaha North's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Saturday after their third straight loss. They fell to Westview 66-60. Even though they lost, Omaha North's still made a splash on offense and bumped their average scoring up to 52 points per game (they're now ranked -1th in scoring overall).
Despite the defeat, Omaha North saw an underclassman step up: Alaeya Randle scored 23 points along with five rebounds and three blocks. Those three blocks set a new season-high mark for Randle. Akazja Foster was another key contributor, scoring 14 points.
Lincoln Southwest's victory bumped their record up to 4-0. As for Omaha North, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-3.
Keep an eye on the arc in Thursday's game: Lincoln Southwest have made nailing deep shots look easy this year this season, having only averaged 7.2 threes per game. It's a different story for Omaha North, though, as they've been averaging only 4.2 threes per game. Given Lincoln Southwest's sizeable advantage in that area, Omaha North will need to find a way to close that gap.
Everything came up roses for Lincoln Southwest against Omaha North when the teams last played back in December of 2022 as the team secured a 78-41 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Lincoln Southwest since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
