Basketball Recap: Noelle Tcheuhchoua's Big Game Can't Quite Lead Omaha Central over Bellevue East

After flying high against Omaha Northwest last Friday, Omaha Central came back down to earth. The Omaha Central Eagles fell 88-78 to the Bellevue East Chieftains on Tuesday. While losing is never fun, the Eagles can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 72nd, while the Chieftains are ranked seventh).

Noelle Tcheuhchoua

Points

02/11/25 vs Bellevue East	22
02/07/25 vs Omaha Northwest	32
02/04/25 @ Lincoln North Star	19

Omaha Central lost despite a true team effort on offense. The best among them was Noelle Tcheuhchoua, who posted 22 points. Her evening made it three games in a row in which she has scored at least 19 points. Another player making a difference was Justine Tcheuhchoua, who earned 15 points.

Bellevue East's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was TNiyah Wilson-Smith, who dropped a double-double with 40 points and 11 boards. Those 40 points gave Wilson-Smith a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Brani Jackson, who had 24 points and three steals.

Omaha Central has traveled a rocky road recently having lost four of their last five matchups, which has put a noticeable dent in their 10-11 record this season. That patch can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 60.6 points over those games. As for Bellevue East, the victory (which was their eighth in a row) raised their record to 17-3.

Looking ahead, Omaha Central will head out to take on Lincoln High at 5:15 p.m. on Saturday. As for Bellevue East, it'll be Eastside v. Westside when they and Bellevue West meet at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. One thing working in Bellevue East's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last eight games.