Basketball Game Preview: Northfield Norsemen vs. Southwood Knights

An exciting North v. South battle is about to be fought. The Northfield Norsemen will take on the Southwood Knights at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Northfield will be strutting in after a win while Southwood will be coming in after a loss.

Northfield took a loss when they played away from home on Thursday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Saturday. They walked away with a 57-47 victory over Churubusco. Given the Norsemen's advantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 144th, while the Eagles are ranked 296th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Northfield's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Laney Haupert, who made all 6 shots she took racking up 17 points. The dominant performance also gave Haupert a new career-high in blocks (two). Another player making a difference was Callie Hoffman, who almost dropped a double-double on 11 points and nine boards.

Meanwhile, while it was all tied up 19-19 at halftime, Southwood was not quite Northwestern's equal in the second half on Friday. They took a 48-44 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Tigers. The Knights have struggled against the Tigers recently, as the game was their fifth consecutive lost matchup.

Northfield's victory was their ninth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 14-8. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 57.6 points per game. As for Southwood, their defeat dropped their record down to 6-16.

Northfield beat Southwood 42-32 when the teams last played back in December of 2024. Does Northfield have another victory up their sleeve, or will Southwood turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.