Barr-Reeve comes up short despite Willow Thompson's dominant performance

By Team Reports Jan 18, 2024, 8:43am

Recap: Barr-Reeve Vikings vs. Northeast Dubois Jeeps

After flying high against the Washington Catholic Cardinals last Tuesday, the Barr-Reeve Vikings came back down to earth. Barr-Reeve fell to Northeast Dubois 36-31. Barr-Reeve has struggled against Northeast Dubois recently, as their contest on Thursday was their third consecutive lost matchup.

Despite the loss, Barr-Reeve still got an impressive performance from Willow Thompson, who scored 19 points along with eight rebounds and five steals. Thompson also posted two+ blocks for the first time this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Hannah Bledsoe, who scored six points along with seven rebounds and three blocks.

Northeast Dubois' success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Kelli Merkel led the charge by scoring 12 points along with five rebounds and two steals. Merkel has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last four times she's played. Another player making a difference was Ava Helming, who scored five points along with six rebounds.

Barr-Reeve's loss dropped their record down to 8-10. As for Northeast Dubois, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven games, which provided a nice bump to their 11-7 record this season.

Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Barr-Reeve will take on Shoals at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Shoals is hoping to put an end to a four-game streak of away losses. As for Northeast Dubois, they will look to defend their home court on Thursday against Loogootee at 7:30 p.m. Loogootee will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Indiana Rankings (they are ranked 260th, while Northeast Dubois is ranked 127th).