Basketball Game Preview: Laurel-Concord-Coleridge Bears vs. Hartington-Newcastle Wildcats

The Laurel-Concord-Coleridge Bears will take on the Hartington-Newcastle Wildcats at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Laurel-Concord-Coleridge is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 54.3 points per game this season.

Having struggled with seven losses in a row, Laurel-Concord-Coleridge turned things around against Walthill on Friday. They took their matchup with ease, bagging a 76-38 win over the Blujays. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest victory the Bears have posted since December 5, 2024.

Laurel-Concord-Coleridge found their leader in sophomore Rena Rasmussen, who went 13 of 18 en route to 33 points and eight boards. Rasmussen has been hot recently, having posted eight or more rebounds the last four times she's played. Another player making a difference was Lainey Schutte, who almost dropped a double-double on nine points and 15 boards.

Laurel-Concord-Coleridge smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 20 offensive rebounds. That's the most offensive boards they've posted since back in December of 2023.

Meanwhile, Hartington-Newcastle was able to grind out a solid win over Neligh-Oakdale on Monday, taking the game 39-30. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Wildcats.

Hartington-Newcastle's victory bumped their record up to 9-5. As for Laurel-Concord-Coleridge, their win ended a three-game drought on the road and puts them at 6-9.

Laurel-Concord-Coleridge didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against Hartington-Newcastle in their previous meeting back in January of 2023, but they still walked away with a 42-37 victory. Will Laurel-Concord-Coleridge repeat their success, or does Hartington-Newcastle have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.