Fort Calhoun is 2-8 against Arlington since January of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Fort Calhoun Pioneers are taking a road trip to face off against the Arlington Eagles at 6:00 p.m. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Fort Calhoun comes in on five and Arlington on three.
Fort Calhoun will bounce into Friday's contest after beating Syracuse, who they had gone 2-7 against in their nine prior meetings. Fort Calhoun took down Syracuse 47-31 on Tuesday.
| 01/28/25 vs Syracuse | 7 |
| 01/30/24 @ Arlington | 7 |
| 02/09/24 vs Raymond Central | 6 |
| 02/08/24 @ Tekamah-Herman | 6 |
| 01/09/24 @ Louisville | 5 |
Fort Calhoun found their leader in sophomore Ansley Elofson, who posted 17 points along with seven boards and seven steals. That's the most steals Elofson has posted since back in January of 2024. Another player making a difference was Raeann Massey, who earned eight points.
Meanwhile, Arlington sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 48-45 win over Douglas County West on Tuesday. Given the Eagles' advantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 28th, while the Falcon are ranked 136th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Fort Calhoun better keep an eye on Britt Nielsen. She was instrumental in Arlington's win, dropping a double-double on 22 points and 17 rebounds. Nielsen has been hot recently, having posted eight or more boards the last three times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Macy Wolf, who had nine points.
Arlington smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 16 offensive boards. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Douglas County West only pulled down eight offensive rebounds.
Arlington's victory was their sixth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 13-3. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 54.0 points per game. As for Fort Calhoun, their win bumped their record up to 13-3.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Fort Calhoun has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 25.9 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Arlington struggles in that department as they've been averaging 29.1 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Fort Calhoun came up short against Arlington in their previous matchup back in February of 2024, falling 45-32. Can Fort Calhoun avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
