Preview: Lutheran-Northeast Eagles vs. Howells-Dodge Jaguars
Lutheran-Northeast is 2-8 against Howells-Dodge since January of 2016 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Lutheran-Northeast Eagles will head out on the road to square off against the Howells-Dodge Jaguars at 6:00 p.m. Lutheran-Northeast will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Nebraska Rankings (they are ranked 244th, while Howells-Dodge is ranked 80th).
Lutheran-Northeast suffered their biggest loss since December 7, 2023 on Tuesday. They were dealt a 63-19 loss at the hands of Clarkson/Leigh. Lutheran-Northeast has struggled against Clarkson/Leigh recently, as their matchup on Tuesday was their eighth consecutive lost matchup.
Lutheran-Northeast's loss came about despite a quality game from Delaney Rose-hancock, who scored nine points.
Howells-Dodge suffered their closest defeat since December 5, 2023 last Saturday. They fell just short of Guardian Angels Central Catholic by a score of 40-37. Howells-Dodge's loss signaled the end of their three-game winning streak.
Howells-Dodge's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Jordyn Ratzlaff, who scored 16 points along with nine rebounds and three steals, and Kenadie Throener who scored 13 points. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Throener has scored all season.
Lutheran-Northeast's loss was their sixth straight at home dating back to last season, which bumped their record down to 2-12. Howells-Dodge's record is now 7-5.
Thursday's game is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Lutheran-Northeast have been dynamite from deep this season, having made 67.9% of their threes per game. However, it's not like Howells-Dodge struggles in that department as they've drained 38.6% of their threes per game this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Lutheran-Northeast came up short against Howells-Dodge in their previous matchup back in January of 2023, falling 47-38. Can Lutheran-Northeast avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
