Basketball Game Preview: Harding County Ranchers vs. Grant County co-op [Carson/Elgin-New Leipzig/Mott-Regent]

The Harding County Ranchers will venture away from home to face off against Grant County co-op [Carson/Elgin-New Leipzig/Mott-Regent] at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: both posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.

Harding County will bounce into Monday's matchup after beating Faith, who they had gone 2-7 against in their nine prior meetings. Harding County came out on top against Faith by a score of 55-46 on Saturday. That nine point margin sets a new team best for the Ranchers this season.

Nayati Bickerdyke and Casey Lindholm were among the main playmakers for Harding County as the former posted 16 points and seven rebounds and the latter earned nine points along with six boards and five assists. The team also got some help courtesy of Ryder Hunsucker, who posted ten points.

They weren't the only one working in the assists department: Harding County was working as a unit and finished the game with 14 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.

Meanwhile, Grant County co-op [Carson/Elgin-New Leipzig/Mott-Regent] was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their third straight loss. They were two points away from ending the streak, but they lost a 69-67 heartbreaker at the hands of Belfield. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest defeat Grant County co-op [Carson/Elgin-New Leipzig/Mott-Regent] has suffered since December 18, 2023.

Harding County now has a winning record of 3-2. As for Grant County co-op [Carson/Elgin-New Leipzig/Mott-Regent], their loss dropped their record down to 1-6.

Harding County didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against Grant County co-op [Carson/Elgin-New Leipzig/Mott-Regent] in their previous meeting back in January of 2024, but they still walked away with a 53-47 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Harding County since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.