Basketball Game Preview: Hartington-Newcastle Wildcats vs. Laurel-Concord-Coleridge Bears

Having just played yesterday, the Hartington-Newcastle Wildcats will head out on the road to face off against the Laurel-Concord-Coleridge Bears at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

On Monday, Hartington-Newcastle earned a 39-30 win over Neligh-Oakdale. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Wildcats.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Laurel-Concord-Coleridge). They blew past Walthill 76-38 on Friday. The victory was a breath of fresh air for the Bears as it put an end to their seven-game losing streak.

Laurel-Concord-Coleridge found their leader in sophomore Rena Rasmussen, who went 13 for 18 en route to 33 points and eight boards. Rasmussen has been hot recently, having posted eight or more rebounds the last four times she's played. Another player making a difference was Lainey Schutte, who almost dropped a double-double on nine points and 15 boards.

Laurel-Concord-Coleridge smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 20 offensive boards. That's the most offensive rebounds they've posted since back in December of 2023.

Hartington-Newcastle's win bumped their record up to 9-5. As for Laurel-Concord-Coleridge, their victory ended a three-game drought on the road and puts them at 6-9.

Hartington-Newcastle came up short against Laurel-Concord-Coleridge in their previous meeting back in January of 2023, falling 42-37. Can Hartington-Newcastle avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.