Basketball Preview: North Newton Spartans vs. Hebron Hawks
North Newton and Hebron are an even 3-3 against one another since February of 2016, but not for long. The North Newton Spartans will welcome the Hebron Hawks at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. The two teams have had a bumpy ride up to this point with five consecutive losses apiece.
Last Monday, North Newton lost to Attica on the road by a 29-12 margin.
Piper Ivey put forth a good effort for the losing side as she earned two points along with eight rebounds. The dominant performance also gave her a new career-high in offensive rebounds (five).
Even though they lost, North Newton smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 20 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in three consecutive games.
Meanwhile, a win for Hebron just wasn't in the cards on Monday as the squad wasn't able to take the lead at any point. They were dealt a 71-13 defeat at the hands of Knox.
Megan Balas was Hebron's leading scorer, having posted six points. Balas also led the team in assists with two.
Baily Dilbeck held things down on the boards with six rebounds.
Hebron's loss dropped their record down to 1-6. As for North Newton, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-5.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: North Newton has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 30.7 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Hebron struggles in that department as they've been averaging 32.6. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
North Newton was able to grind out a solid victory over Hebron in their previous matchup back in December of 2022, winning 47-39. Will North Newton repeat their success, or does Hebron have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
