Basketball Game Preview: Hill City Ringnecks vs. Quinter Bulldogs

Hill City and Quinter are an even 5-5 against one another since January of 2015, but not for long. After both having extra time off, the two teams will shake off the cobwebs and challenge one another on Tuesday. Hill City will come in still looking for their first win of the season.

Two weeks ago, Hill City had to suffer through a 70-22 loss at the hands of Hoxie.

Despite the defeat, Hill City saw an underclassman step up: freshman Jenna Berland posted six points in addition to six boards and four steals. Those four steals set a new season-high mark for Berland. The team also got some help courtesy of Kamryn Mauck, who had ten points and six rebounds.

Meanwhile, Quinter didn't have too much trouble with Greeley County two weeks ago as they won 56-40. The 56-point effort marked the Bulldogs' lowest-scoring contest of the season, but in the end it didn't matter.

Hill City better keep an eye on Bryn Gillespie. She was instrumental in Quinter's win, going 8 of 11 on her way to 23 points along with seven assists and six boards. Those seven assists gave Gillespie a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Braelyn Blackwill, who went 6 of 13 on her way to 13 points and eight rebounds.

Quinter was working as a unit and finished the game with 18 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.

Quinter's victory bumped their record up to 4-1. As for Hill City, their loss dropped their record down to 0-4.

Hill City was taken down by Quinter 65-16 in their previous matchup back in December of 2023. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Gillespie, who went 6 of 11 on her way to 18 points and five boards. Now that Hill City knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.