Basketball Game Preview: Douglas County West Falcon vs. Platteview Trojans

Douglas County West hasn't had much luck against Platteview recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Douglas County West Falcon will take on the Platteview Trojans at 5:30 p.m. Douglas County West will be strutting in after a victory while Platteview will be coming in after a loss.

Douglas County West played in conference for the first time on Tuesday and they got just the result they we're looking for. They put the hurt on Conestoga with a sharp 59-38 win. The victory continues a trend for the Falcon in their matchups with the Cougars: they've now won seven in a row.

Ava Grimm

Rebounds (Career)

02/11/25 vs Conestoga	11
01/28/25 @ Arlington	10
01/21/25 vs Louisville	10
02/02/24 @ Ashland-Greenwood	8
01/22/24 @ Fort Calhoun	8

Ava Grimm went supernova for Douglas County West, shooting 4-for-7 from beyond the arc and dropping a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Those 11 boards gave Grimm a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Bella Zach, who posted five points and five rebounds.

Meanwhile, Platteview came up short against Seward on Tuesday and fell 59-46. While losing is never fun, the Trojans can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 159th, while the Bluejays are ranked 33rd).

Despite the defeat, Platteview saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Hadley Fahrenbruch went 6-for-7 on her way to 15 points and five boards. Fahrenbruch continues to improve, besting her previous point total in each of the last three games she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Alexys Mandel, who put up nine points.

Platteview's loss dropped their record down to 7-13. As for Douglas County West, their win bumped their record up to 9-12.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Douglas County West has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 24.2 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Platteview struggles in that department as they've been averaging 28.7 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.

Douglas County West couldn't quite finish off Platteview in their previous meeting back in February of 2024 and fell 66-64. Can Douglas County West avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.