Preview: Hay Springs Hawks vs. Banner County Wildcats
Hay Springs has been on the road for two straight, but on Friday they'll finally head home. They will finish 2023 at home by hosting the Banner County Wildcats. Hopefully Hay Springs is not getting complacent, as they presents a significant challenge as they come into the match much higher ranked than Banner County in Nebraska (Hay Springs is ranked 95th, while Banner County is ranked 278th).
Last Tuesday, Hay Springs earned a 44-37 victory over Crawford.
Hay Springs got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Gabby Twarling out in front who scored 17 points along with seven rebounds and four blocks. That makes it five consecutive games in which Twarling has scored at least 25% of Hay Springs' points. Mya Turman was another key contributor, dropping a double-double on 17 points and 12 rebounds.
Meanwhile, Banner County's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Thursday after their sixth straight loss. They had to suffer through a rough 52-17 loss at the hands of Cody-Kilgore.
Karleigh Leslie was Banner County's leading scorer, having posted nine points.
Abigayle Jones held things down on the boards with 15 rebounds. She took the lead distributing the ball, coming up with two assists.
Hay Springs has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 7-2 record this season. As for Banner County, their loss was their fourth straight at home, which bumped their record down to 1-8.
Friday's game is shaping up to be a scrappy matchup: Hay Springs have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 39.6 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Banner County struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 24 rebounds per game. Given Hay Springs' sizeable advantage in that area, Banner County will need to find a way to close that gap.
Everything came up roses for Hay Springs against Banner County in their previous matchup back in December of 2022 as the team secured a 67-13 victory. With Hay Springs ahead 44-4 at the half, the game was all but over already.
