Basketball Game Preview: Stuart Broncos vs. Elgin/Pope John Wolfpack

Stuart is 1-9 against Elgin/Pope John since January of 2017 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Broncos just played last yesterday, but they'll still welcome the Wolfpack at 5:00 p.m. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.

Stuart is headed into the game after thoroughly thrashing Osmond: they outscored them in every quarter. The Broncos were the clear victors by a 48-25 margin over the Tigers on Thursday. The Broncos not only won on Thursday, but they posted their biggest win since December 13, 2025 (when they won 60-23).

Meanwhile, you can't lose the game if you win every quarter, and that was precisely Elgin/Pope John's strategy against Fullerton on Tuesday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that the Wolfpack blew the Warriors out of the water with a 61-18 final score. The Wolfpack have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won six contests by 24 points or more this season.

Stuart better focus on containing Braelyn Martinsen and Madelyn Kurpgeweit as the pair were huge in Elgin/Pope John's win. Martinsen posted 14 points, while Kurpgeweit had 13 points. Jael Lammers was another key player, putting up eight points.

Elgin/Pope John has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won seven of their last eight matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 12-2 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 55.8 points over those games. As for Stuart, their win bumped their record up to 5-8.

Stuart ended up a good deal behind Elgin/Pope John in their previous meeting back in January of 2025, losing 51-36. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Martinsen, who earned 24 points. Now that the Broncos know the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.