Basketball Game Preview: Jefferson West Tigers vs. Nemaha Central Thunder

Tigers

Points

12/16/25 @ Royal Valley	35
12/12/25 @ McLouth	87
12/09/25 vs Jefferson County North	72
12/05/25 vs Valley Falls	67

Jefferson West hasn't had much luck against Nemaha Central recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Tigers will venture away from home to face off against the Thunder at 6:00 p.m. Jefferson West is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 52.2 points per game this season.

It was a proper cat-fight when Jefferson West challenged Royal Valley on Tuesday. The Tigers might be feeling deja-vu: they lost 40-35 to the Panthers, which was the same score (and result) they got the week prior.

Despite the defeat, Jefferson West had strong showings from Brynlee Koontz, who dropped a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds, and Emmie Dean, who posted seven points along with six steals and five boards. That was a full 34.3% of the Tigers' points, marking the fourth time in a row Koontz has scored more than a third of the team's points. Liz Deeter also deserves some recognition as she posted her first assist of the season.

Meanwhile, Nemaha Central lost to Valley Heights on the road by a 41-26 margin on Tuesday. The contest marked the Thunder's lowest-scoring matchup so far this season.

Nemaha Central now has a losing record of 2-3. As for Jefferson West, their loss dropped their record down to 3-2.

Jefferson West was dealt a bruising 67-27 defeat at the hands of Nemaha Central in their previous matchup back in February. Can the Tigers avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.