Basketball Game Preview: Howells-Dodge Jaguars vs. Pender Pendragons

Howells-Dodge hasn't had much luck against Pender recently, but that could start to change on Monday. The Howells-Dodge Jaguars will challenge the Pender Pendragons at 5:30 p.m. Pender took a loss in their last match and will be looking to turn the tables on Howells-Dodge, who comes in off a win.

Howells-Dodge is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They claimed a resounding 72-15 win over Tekamah-Herman. Given the Jaguars' advantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 54th, while the Tigers are ranked 252nd), the result on Friday wasn't entirely unexpected.

Howells-Dodge's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Jordyn Ratzlaff led the charge by putting up 14 points and three steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Ava Noyd, who went 7 for 8 en route to 14 points and five rebounds.

Howells-Dodge was working as a unit and finished the game with 24 assists. That's the most assists they've posted since the start of last season.

Meanwhile, after a string of 25 wins dating back to last season, Pender's good fortune finally ran out on Friday. They lost to Elkhorn North on the road by a 60-44 margin. The contest marked the Pendragons' lowest-scoring game so far this season.

Howells-Dodge is on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last ten matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 11-6 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 52.8 points per game. As for Pender, their loss was their first of the season and makes their record 17-1.

Howells-Dodge was taken down by Pender 78-50 in their previous meeting back in February of 2024. That game was all but decided by halftime, at which point Howells-Dodge was down 52-29.