Basketball Game Preview: Nebraska Lutheran Knights vs. High Plains Storm

The Nebraska Lutheran Knights will square off against the High Plains Storm at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both teams are coming into the matchup red-hot, with Nebraska Lutheran sitting on three straight victories and High Plains on five.

On Tuesday, Nebraska Lutheran strolled past East Butler with points to spare, taking the game 55-38.

Nebraska Lutheran's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Samantha Hueske, who dropped a double-double on 15 points and 12 rebounds. Hueske has become a key player for Nebraska Lutheran: the team is 5-1 when she posts at least eight rebounds, but 1-2 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Rebecca Hueske, who almost dropped a double-double on 14 points and nine rebounds.

Nebraska Lutheran smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 16 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in three consecutive contests.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask High Plains). They blew past Palmer 66-32 on Tuesday. The Storm have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won four games by 26 points or more this season.

Nebraska Lutheran better keep an eye on Gahvrielle Lesiak. She was instrumental in High Plains' win, going 8 of 9 on her way to 22 points. The dominant performance gave Lesiak a new career-high in points. The team also got some help courtesy of Courtney Carlstrom, who posted 11 points.

Nebraska Lutheran's win bumped their record up to 6-3. As for High Plains, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 8-4 record this season.

Nebraska Lutheran came up short against High Plains in their previous meeting back in February of 2024, falling 50-42. Will Nebraska Lutheran have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.