Basketball Game Preview: Wellington-Napoleon Tigers vs. Lafayette County Huskers

The Wellington-Napoleon Tigers will face off against the Lafayette County Huskers at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. Wellington-Napoleon is coming into the match on a six-game losing streak.

It was a proper cat-fight when Wellington-Napoleon challenged Oak Grove on Tuesday. Wellington-Napoleon lost 59-39 to Oak Grove. While losing is never fun, the Tigers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Missouri basketball rankings (they are ranked 451st, while the Panthers are ranked 182nd).

Despite the defeat, Wellington-Napoleon saw an underclassman step up: freshman Ayden Ellensohn posted 12 points. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Ellensohn has scored all season. Another player making a difference was Cali Russell, who scored ten points.

Meanwhile, Lafayette County came up short against Lexington on Friday and fell 52-44.

Lafayette County has been struggling recently as they've lost four of their last five contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 5-8 record this season. As for Wellington-Napoleon, their loss dropped their record down to 3-11.

Wellington-Napoleon skirted past Lafayette County 31-28 when the teams last played back in January of 2024. Will Wellington-Napoleon repeat their success, or does Lafayette County have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.