The Jersey Panthers will take on the Nokomis Redskins in a tournament on Wednesday. Jersey has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games.
It was a proper cat-fight when Jersey duked it out withGreenfield/Northwestern on Saturday. Jersey put the hurt on Greenfield/Northwestern with a sharp 48-25 win. The Panthers have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won eight games by 21 points or more this season.
Jersey's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Meredith Gray led the charge by dropping a double-double on 14 points and 12 boards. Cali Breden was another key player, putting up nine points and five rebounds.
Jersey was working as a unit and finished the game with 13 assists. That's the most assists they've posted since back in November of 2024.
Meanwhile, Nokomis waltzed into their matchup on Saturday with six straight wins... but they left with seven. They strolled past the Warriors with points to spare, taking the game 57-38. Given the Redskins' advantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 151st, while the Warriors are ranked 438th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Nokomis' win came from a few key players Jersey will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Natalie Brownback, who went 6 for 15 en route to 16 points and four steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Kinley Stolte, who posted ten points in addition to seven boards and three steals.
Nokomis has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won eight of their last nine contests, which provided a nice bump to their 20-3 record this season. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 60.0 points per game. As for Jersey, their record now sits at 13-10.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Jersey has been crashing the rebounds this season, having averaged 30.4 boards per game. However, it's not like Nokomis struggles in that department as they've been averaging 31.5 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Jersey strolled past Nokomis in their previous meeting back in January of 2024 by a score of 64-47. Will Jersey repeat their success, or does Nokomis have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
