The Lyons-Decatur Northeast Cougars will wrap up 2023 with a road trip to face off against the Madison Dragons at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday. Madison took a loss in their last match and will be looking to turn the tables on Lyons-Decatur Northeast, who comes in off a win.
Lyons-Decatur Northeast can finally bid farewell to their three-game losing streak thanks to their game on Tuesday. They strolled past Winside with points to spare, taking the game 41-26. The victory was just what Lyons-Decatur Northeast needed coming off of a 61-28 loss in their prior game.
Lyons-Decatur Northeast's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Avery Bacon, who scored 14 points along with seven rebounds, and Sydney Olsen, who scored six points along with five rebounds and three steals. Those five rebounds set a new season-high mark for her. Tristen Parker was another key contributor, scoring six points along with ten rebounds.
Meanwhile, Madison struggled with assists last Saturday (Oakland-Craig had ten more) and sadly the final score reflected it. Madison took a serious blow against Oakland-Craig, falling 58-15. While losing is never fun, Madison can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 213th, while Oakland-Craig is ranked 42nd).
The match pitted two dominant players against one another in Salena Duinkerken and Briar Ray. Ray had a great game and scored nine points along with six rebounds and four steals. Meanwhile, Duinkerken did her best for the losing side, scoring eight points.
Lyons-Decatur Northeast's victory bumped their record up to 2-5. As for Madison, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 2-4.
Thursday's match is shaping up to be a scrappy match: Lyons-Decatur Northeast have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 29.6 rebounds per game. It's a different story for Madison, though, as they've been averaging only 26 rebounds per game. Given Lyons-Decatur Northeast's sizeable advantage in that area, Madison will need to find a way to close that gap.
Lyons-Decatur Northeast was able to grind out a solid victory over Madison when the teams last played back in January, winning 35-27. Does Lyons-Decatur Northeast have another victory up their sleeve, or will Madison turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
