Preview: Arapahoe Warriors vs. Axtell Wildcats
The Arapahoe Warriors will look to defend their home court on Tuesday against the Axtell Wildcats. Axtell took a loss in their last contest and will be looking to turn the tables on Arapahoe, who comes in off a win.
Arapahoe scored the most points they've had all season to find success on Friday. They blew past Hi-Line [Eustis-Farnam/Elwood] 64-24 at home. That looming 64-24 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for Arapahoe yet this season.
Berkley Warner and Cadence Carpenter were among the main playmakers for Arapahoe as the former scored 12 points along with seven steals and six assists and the latter dropped a double-double on 14 points and ten rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Carpenter has scored all season. Mckenzie Ewoldt was another key contributor, scoring four points along with seven rebounds and three steals.
Meanwhile, Axtell's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Thursday after their eighth straight loss. They were outmatched by Elm Creek at home and fell 50-9. While losing is never fun, Axtell can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 267th, while Elm Creek is ranked 56th).
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Axtell struggled to work together and finished the game with only an assist. They were crushed by their opponents in that department as Elm Creek posted 11 assists.
The victory got Arapahoe back to even at 7-7. As for Axtell, they bumped their record down to 1-12 with that loss, which was their sixth straight at home.
Keep an eye on the arc in Tuesday's game: Arapahoe have made nailing deep shots look easy this year this season, having only averaged 4.4 threes per game. It's a different story for Axtell, though, as they've been averaging only 1.8 threes per game. Given Arapahoe's sizeable advantage in that area, Axtell will need to find a way to close that gap.
Arapahoe didn't have too much breathing room in their match against Axtell in their previous matchup back in January of 2023, but they still walked away with a 63-58 win. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Axtell's Lexie Eckhoff, who dropped a double-double on 28 points and 12 rebounds. Now that she won't be playing on Tuesday, will it be that much easier for Arapahoe to walk away with another win? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
