Basketball Game Preview: Omaha South Packers vs. Millard West Wildcats

Omaha South hasn't had much luck against Millard West recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Omaha South Packers will be playing in front of their home fans against the Millard West Wildcats at 5:30 p.m.

Omaha South is headed into Friday's match looking for a big change in momentum after dropping their tenth straight game on Friday. They took a blow against Lincoln Northeast, falling 69-26. The Packers were down 59-19 at the end of the third quarter, and things only got worse from there.

Despite the loss, Omaha South saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Aubrey Harper posted 15 points and five rebounds. That was a full 57.7% of Omaha South's points, marking the 11th time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points.

Meanwhile, Millard West had already won 16 in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 26.2 points) and they went ahead and made it 17 on Friday. They took down the Silver Hawks 68-51. Given the Wildcats' advantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked second, while the Silver Hawks are ranked 26th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Millard West had a senior duo take command as Norah Gessert went 8 of 11 to rack up 21 points and six assists and Neleigh Gessert went 6 for 10 on her way to 16 points in addition to five boards and four steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Norah has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Jade Lewis, who scored seven points.

Millard West was working as a unit and finished the game with 22 assists. That's the most assists they've posted since back in January of 2024.

Millard West's win was their 21st straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 19-1. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 63.0 points over those games. As for Omaha South, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-16.

Omaha South was dealt a bruising 63-26 loss at the hands of Millard West when the teams last played back in January of 2023. Can Omaha South avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.