Basketball Recap: Natalie Brownback's Big Game Can't Quite Lead Nokomis over Carrollton

Nokomis has been a dominant force so far, but they're in the middle of a mini-slump at the moment. They lost to the Carrollton Hawks on the road by a 63-45 margin on Saturday. The Redskins were given a dose of their own medicine in this game as the Hawks apparently hadn't forgotten their defeat the last time these teams played back in January of 2023.

Several Redskins players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Natalie Brownback, who posted ten points and three steals. Brownback has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last four times she's played. Another player making a difference was Grace Dewerff, who had nine points.

Leading Carrollton to victory were Lauren Flowers and Megan Camden. Flowers dropped a double-double on 19 points and 18 rebounds, while Camden made all 8 shots she took to post 16 points and eight boards. The dominant performance gave Camden a new career-high in points. Hayden Mcmurtrie was another key player, putting up 11 points.

Nokomis' loss dropped their record down to 21-5. As for Carrollton, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won nine of their last ten matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 20-7 record this season.

Nokomis and Carrollton should be looking forward to their upcoming games as both have a sizable advantage in the MaxPreps Illinois Rankings. Nokomis (ranked 160th) will meet Sangamon Valley/Tri-City (ranked 643rd) at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. Nokomis is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 54.9 points per game this season. Similarly, Carrollton will square off against West Central co-op [Winchester-Bluffs] at 6:00 p.m. on Monday up 185 places (94 vs. 279).