Preview: Lutheran Lions vs. Eaton Reds
The Lutheran Lions are on the road again on Tuesday and play against the Eaton Reds at 7:00 p.m. on December 19th.
Lutheran's 23-4 record from last season is now well into the rear view mirror after another tough outing. They received a tough blow on Thursday as they fell 53-38 to Chaparral. While losing is never fun, Lutheran can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Colorado basketball rankings (they are ranked 182nd, while Chaparral is ranked 40th).
Despite the defeat, Lutheran had strong showings from Berkley Schneider, who scored 18 points along with seven rebounds, and Jayda Vigil, who scored 13 points. Mikaela-zoe Colon was another key contributor, scoring four points along with five rebounds.
Meanwhile, Eaton's four-game losing streak came to an end on Saturday. They managed a 47-43 victory over Strasburg.
Eaton's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Courtney Steinkamp, who scored 15 points, and Tayla Wiedeman, who scored 18 points. The game was Steinkamp's seventh in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Delaney Reuter, who scored seven points.
Lutheran's defeat dropped their record down to 1-5. As for Eaton, their win ended a three-game drought at home and bumped them up to 3-4.
Tuesday's contest is shaping up to be a scrappy game: Lutheran have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 30.2 rebounds per game. It's a different story for Eaton, though, as they've been averaging only 31.4 rebounds per game. Given Lutheran's sizeable advantage in that area, Eaton will need to find a way to close that gap.
Lutheran took their win against Eaton in their previous meeting back in December of 2022 by a conclusive 58-37. The rematch might be a little tougher for Lutheran since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
