Arlington has won three straight games at home, while Raymond Central has won three straight on the road, but those streaks won't matter much on Friday. The Arlington Eagles will host the Raymond Central Mustangs at 6:00 p.m. Arlington has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last four games.
Arlington is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They enjoyed a cozy 65-50 win over Wisner-Pilger on Saturday. Given the Eagles' advantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 24th, while the Gators are ranked 155th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
| 01/04/25 @ Wisner-Pilger | 3 |
| 01/03/25 @ Concordia | 4 |
| 12/31/24 vs Holdrege | 2 |
| 12/30/24 vs Platteview | 6 |
| 12/20/24 vs Wahoo | 3 |
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Arlington to victory, but perhaps none more so than Emerson Timm, who went 7 for 10 on her way to 32 points in addition to seven assists and five boards. Timm has been hot for a while, having also posted two or more steals the last 15 times she's played. Another player making a difference was Macy Wolf, who almost dropped a double-double on 22 points and nine rebounds.
Arlington smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with ten offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive rebounds in six consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, Raymond Central hadn't done well against North Bend Central recently (they were 0-9 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Tuesday. Raymond Central snuck past North Bend Central with a 50-46 victory.
Raymond Central's win came from a few key players Arlington will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Taylor Kopecky, who posted nine points. The team also got some help courtesy of Kenzie Teneyck, who put up nine points.
Raymond Central's win bumped their record up to 8-2. As for Arlington, their victory bumped their record up to 9-1.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Arlington has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 29.3 boards per game. However, it's not like Raymond Central struggles in that department as they've been averaging 28.7 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Arlington strolled past Raymond Central when the teams last played back in January of 2024 by a score of 55-40. Does Arlington have another victory up their sleeve, or will Raymond Central turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
