Basketball Game Preview: South Hardin Tigers vs. East Marshall Mustangs

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Previous Games

12/10/24 - Home	72-24 W
01/29/24 - Away	57-38 W
12/05/23 - Home	70-28 W
02/12/22 - Neutral	47-36 W
01/28/22 - Neutral	40-33 W
+ 5 more games

South Hardin has gone 8-2 against East Marshall recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Friday. The South Hardin Tigers will challenge the East Marshall Mustangs at 6:15 p.m. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.

Last Friday, South Hardin ended up a good deal behind Hudson and lost 71-54. While losing is never fun, the Tigers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Iowa basketball rankings (they are ranked 246th, while the Pirates are ranked 86th).

South Hardin's loss came about despite a quality game from Alli Sheldahl, who posted 22 points and seven boards. Another player making a difference was Ayda Eller, who had eight points along with seven assists and six rebounds.

Even though they lost, South Hardin smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in five consecutive matches.

Meanwhile, East Marshall was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their ninth straight defeat. They were outmatched by Gladbrook-Reinbeck and fell 72-9. The contest marked the Mustangs' lowest-scoring game so far this season.

South Hardin has traveled a rocky road recently having lost six of their last seven matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 3-8 record this season. As for East Marshall, their record is now 2-11.

Everything came up roses for South Hardin against East Marshall in their previous meeting back in December of 2024, as the squad secured a 72-24 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for South Hardin since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.