Basketball Recap: Niobrara/Verdigre's Run of Six Straight Victories Now Over

After flying high against Randolph last Tuesday, Niobrara/Verdigre came back down to earth. The Niobrara/Verdigre Cougars received a blow on Tuesday as they fell 48-32 to the North Central Knights. The Cougars' defeat signaled the end of their six-game winning streak.

Niobrara/Verdigre lost despite a true team effort on offense, the best among them being Delani Runnels, who almost dropped a double-double on nine points and 11 rebounds. Runnels has been hot for a while, having also posted two or more steals the last 11 times she's played. Eve Kucera was another key player, putting up nine points.

Even though they lost, Niobrara/Verdigre smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive rebounds in nine consecutive matchups.

North Central got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Karlene Kepler out in front who almost dropped a double-double on 14 points and nine boards. The dominant performance gave Kepler a new career-high in points. Another player making a difference was Mya Lewis, who almost dropped a double-double on nine points and 11 rebounds.

Niobrara/Verdigre's loss ended a six-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 10-4. As for North Central, they are on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four games, which provided a nice bump to their 7-7 record this season.

Niobrara/Verdigre didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next contest, a 44-40 defeat against Wynot on the 27th. As for North Central, they also wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next match, a 48-36 win against Ainsworth on the 23rd.