The Waverly Vikings will be playing in front of their home fans against Elkhorn North at 7:15 p.m. on Friday. The teams are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Waverly has struggled recently with three defeats in a row, while Elkhorn North will arrive with five straight victories.
Last Tuesday, Waverly was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap as they fell 50-45 to Mount Michael Benedictine.
Despite their defeat, Waverly saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Reece Bader, who scored 14 points, was perhaps the best of all. Another player making a difference was Ashton Heffelfinger, who scored 12 points.
Meanwhile, Elkhorn North didn't have too much breathing room in their match against Blair on Thursday, but they still walked away with a 55-51 win. Given Elkhorn North's advantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 35th, while Blair is ranked 117th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Waverly dropped their record down to 4-9 with that loss, which was their fourth straight at home. As for Elkhorn North, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won eight of their last nine matches, which provided a nice bump to their 9-3 record this season.
Everything went Waverly's way against Elkhorn North in their previous matchup back in December of 2022 as Waverly made off with a 62-40 victory. Will Waverly repeat their success, or does Elkhorn North have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
