The Russell Broncos will head out on the road to challenge the Trego Golden Eagles at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Russell has five straight wins, Trego has three straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the court.
Russell will bounce into Friday's game after beating Thomas More Prep-Marian, who they had gone 1-8 against in their nine prior meetings. Russell snuck past Thomas More Prep-Marian with a 49-45 victory on Tuesday.
Norah Mooney
| 02/11/25 vs Thomas More Prep-Marian | 6 |
| 01/23/25 @ Ellis | 5 |
| 02/03/25 vs Ellis | 4 |
| 12/17/24 @ Pratt | 4 |
| 12/13/24 vs Central Plains | 4 |
Russell got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Norah Mooney out in front who posted ten points along with six assists and six boards. Those six assists gave Mooney a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Aubrey Birney, who dropped a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Russell 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 nine offensive rebounds in four consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, Trego played a tough match on Tuesday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They took a blow against Hoxie, falling 60-30. While losing is never fun, the Golden Eagles can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Kansas basketball rankings (they are ranked 242nd, while the Indians are ranked 17th).
Despite the loss, Trego saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Bailey Ziegler almost dropped a double-double with nine points and 12 boards. Ziegler is also on a roll when it comes to blocks, as she's now posted two or more in the last four games she's played.
The victory got Russell back to even at 9-9. As for Trego, their defeat dropped their record down to 5-11.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Russell has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 25.1 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Trego struggles in that department as they've been averaging 30.4 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Russell strolled past Trego in their previous meeting back in January by a score of 45-26. Does Russell have another victory up their sleeve, or will Trego turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
