Preview: Nickerson Panthers vs. Macksville Mustangs
The Nickerson Panthers will head out on the road to challenge the Macksville Mustangs on Tuesday. The teams are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Nickerson has struggled recently with three defeats in a row, while Macksville will arrive with four straight wins.
Last Friday, Nickerson came up short against Haven and fell 44-35. While losing is never fun, Nickerson can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Kansas basketball rankings (they are ranked 292nd, while Haven is ranked 69th).
In what's become a running theme this season, Macksville gave their fans yet another huge victory on Friday. They took their game on the road with ease, bagging a 47-19 victory over Ellinwood.
Mayce Russell was the offensive standout of the match as she scored 12 points along with eight steals. Russell is absolutely dominating the steal category: she's posted at least two every time she's taken the court this season. Another player making a difference was Isabela Ortiz, who scored 14 points along with three steals.
Nickerson bumped their record down to 1-5 with that loss, which was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season. Those losses could be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they only averaged 28.9 points per game. As for Macksville, they are on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six games, which provided a nice bump to their 6-2 record this season.
