Basketball Game Preview: Amherst Broncos vs. Silver Lake Mustangs

It'll be an old-fashioned rodeo when the Broncos face off against the Mustangs at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Amherst can't be too worried about heading out to take on Silver Lake: they just beat Wilcox-Hildreth at home, who had been dominant on their own court up to that point. Amherst came out on top against Wilcox-Hildreth by a score of 40-30 on Thursday. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Broncos.

Addy Simmons

Field Goal Percentage (Career)

02/20/25 @ Wilcox-Hildreth	67%
01/14/25 vs Alma	57%
12/05/24 vs Ravenna	57%
02/08/25 @ Overton	50%
02/06/25 vs Elm Creek	50%

Amherst found their leader in freshman Addy Simmons, who dropped a double-double with 14 points and 16 rebounds. The dominant performance also gave Simmons a new career-high in field goal percentage (67%). Lucy Van Ranken was another key player, putting up five points.

Meanwhile, Silver Lake entered their tilt with Lawrence-Nelson on Thursday with three consecutive wins , and they'll enter their next game with four. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat the Raiders 54-27. Given the Mustangs' advantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 88th in Nebraska, while the Raiders are ranked 234th in Nebraska), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Amherst better focus on containing Sophie Schmidt and Makenna Karr as the pair were huge in Silver Lake's win. Schmidt posted 13 points in addition to seven assists and five boards, while Karr went 6-for-12 to rack up 17 points and five rebounds. Karr continues to improve, besting her previous point total in each of the last three games she's played. Another player making a difference was Katy Soucek, who scored eight points and four steals.

Silver Lake pushed their record up to 20-4 with the victory, which was their ninth straight at home. Those victories came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 26.3 points over those games. As for Amherst, their win bumped their record up to 14-10.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Amherst has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 26.8 boards per game. However, it's not like Silver Lake struggles in that department as they've been averaging 31.8 rebounds. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other basketball content.