Basketball Game Preview: Omaha South Packers vs. Burke Bulldogs

Omaha South is on a six-game streak of home losses also dating back to last season, Burke a five-game streak of away losses also dating back to last season, but someone's luck will change on Friday. The Omaha South Packers will welcome the Burke Bulldogs at 5:30 p.m. Having both just faced considerable losses, both teams are looking to turn things around.

Omaha South is headed into the game out to prove that what happened against Omaha Central on Tuesday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Omaha South was outmatched by Omaha Central and fell 72-23. The Packers were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 38-13.

Despite the loss, Omaha South saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Aubrey Harper posted 15 points and six rebounds. That was a full 65.2% of Omaha South's points, marking the eighth time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points.

Meanwhile, it's never fun to lose, and it's even less fun to lose 73-29, which was the final score in Burke's tilt against Papillion-LaVista South on Tuesday. While losing is never fun, the Bulldogs can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 271st, while the Titans are ranked 63rd).

Omaha South will have to keep a close watch on Hevin Ketchum and Hailey Pitzl, a pair of players who had a big impact on Burke's prior game. Ketchum had 14 points, while Pitzl put up six points and eight rebounds. Those eight boards gave Pitzl a new career-high.

Omaha South's defeat dropped their record down to 2-8. As for Burke, their loss dropped their record down to 0-9.

Omaha South didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against Burke in their previous matchup last Monday, but they still walked away with a 49-43 win. Will Omaha South repeat their success, or does Burke have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.