Basketball Game Preview: Wallace County Wildcats vs. Wheatland-Grinnell Thunderhawks

The Wallace County Wildcats will square off against the Wheatland-Grinnell Thunderhawks at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.

Wallace County is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Saturday. They took their contest with ease, bagging a 67-27 victory over Otis-Bison. The Wildcats have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won ten games by 20 points or more this season.

Meanwhile, Wheatland-Grinnell waltzed into their matchup on Saturday with two straight wins... but they left with three. They came out on top against the Bulldogs by a score of 56-43. Given the Thunderhawks' advantage in MaxPreps' Kansas basketball rankings (they are ranked 92nd, while the Bulldogs are ranked 215th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Wheatland-Grinnell's win came from a few key players Wallace County will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Natalie Bixenman, who shot 55% from the field en route to 17 points along with six assists and four steals. She is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in each of the last four games she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Aliviah Ball, who posted eight points in addition to nine boards and eight blocks.

Wheatland-Grinnell was working as a unit and finished the game with 17 assists. They are 15-1 when they've passed the ball that well.

Wallace County pushed their record up to 16-4 with the win, which was their third straight at home. The wins came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 24.7 points on average over those games. As for Wheatland-Grinnell, their victory bumped their record up to 15-5.

Everything went Wallace County's way against Wheatland-Grinnell when the teams last played back in January, as Wallace County made off with a 47-27 win. Does Wallace County have another victory up their sleeve, or will Wheatland-Grinnell turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.