After five games on the road, Winside is heading back home. They will take on the Stanton Mustangs at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Winside will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Nebraska Rankings (they are ranked 278th, while the Mustangs are ranked 134th).
Winside struggled with threes on Wednesday (the Vikings had six more) and sadly the final score reflected it. Winside received a tough blow as they fell 46-28 to the Vikings.
Winside's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Ellie Topp, who scored 14 points along with eight rebounds, and Hadleigh Schutt who dropped a double-double on 13 points and ten rebounds. That was a full 50% of Winside's points, marking the third time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points.
Even though Stanton has not done well against the Jaguars recently (they were 1-8 in their previous nine matchups), they didn't let the past get in their way on Thursday. Stanton came out on top against the Jaguars by a score of 57-47. The victory was just what Stanton needed coming off of a 59-21 loss in their prior contest.
Stanton's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Madison McKie, who scored 13 points along with six rebounds and two steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points McKie has scored all season. Another player making a difference was Olivia Hupp, who scored 14 points along with eight rebounds and two steals.
Winside dropped their record down to 1-16 with that loss, which was their 16th straight on the road dating back to last season. Those losses could be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they only averaged 24.8 points per game. As for Stanton, their win bumped their record up to 10-8.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Winside have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 29.4 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Stanton struggles in that department as they've been averaging 28.7 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Winside was dealt a bruising 58-29 loss at the hands of the Mustangs in their previous meeting back in February of 2023. The contest was all but decided by halftime, at which point Winside was down 31-11.
