Basketball Game Preview: St. Paul Wildcats vs. O'Neill Eagles

The St. Paul Wildcats will wrap up 2024 with a road trip to face off against the O'Neill Eagles at 2:00 p.m. on Friday.

St. Paul is headed into the matchup out to prove that what happened against Broken Bow on Saturday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. St. Paul had to suffer through a 67-29 loss at the hands of Broken Bow. The Wildcats were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 43-15.

St. Paul's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Charlee Wegner, who went 5 of 12 on her way to 14 points, and Aubree Fitzgerald, who posted eight points and five rebounds. The dominant performance also gave Fitzgerald a new career-high in assists (two).

Meanwhile, O'Neill earned a 48-40 victory over Wayne on Saturday. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Eagles.

O'Neill found their leader in sophomore Hannah Hilker, who went 7 of 13 on her way to 17 points and four steals. Hilker is crushing it when it comes to steals: she's grabbed at least two every time she's taken the court this season. The team also got some help courtesy of Mariah Kallhoff, who had six points.

O'Neill's win bumped their record up to 3-4. As for St. Paul, their loss dropped their record down to 4-2.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: St. Paul has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 24.3 rebounds per game. However, it's not like O'Neill struggles in that department as they've been averaging 24.3 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.

St. Paul came up short against O'Neill when the teams last played back in December of 2022, falling 62-55. Can St. Paul avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.