Bishop Ryan is on a three-game streak of home losses (dating back to last season), Westhope/Newburg a three-game streak of away losses, but someone's luck is about to change. The Bishop Ryan Lions will be home for the holidays to greet the Westhope/Newburg Sioux at 5:45 p.m. on Tuesday. Given that both teams suffered a loss in their last game, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this matchup.
Last Thursday, Bishop Ryan ended up a good deal behind South Prairie/Max and lost 50-33. While losing is never fun, Bishop Ryan can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Dakota basketball rankings (they are ranked 87th, while South Prairie/Max is ranked 12th).
Meanwhile, Westhope/Newburg took a serious blow against Nedrose on Saturday, falling 59-32.
Despite the loss, Westhope/Newburg had strong showings from Kimberly Tabarez, who scored 16 points along with five rebounds, and Abrianna Lesmann, who scored four points along with four steals. Tabarez scored a full 50% of Westhope/Newburg's points, the sixth time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points.
Westhope/Newburg struggled to work together and finished the game with only four assists. That's the fewest assists they've managed all season.
Bishop Ryan's loss dropped their record down to 0-5. As for Westhope/Newburg, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-5.
Bishop Ryan came up short against Westhope/Newburg when the teams last played back in November of 2022, falling 51-43. Thankfully for Bishop Ryan, Ellie Braaten (who almost dropped a triple-double on 18 points, nine rebounds, and 12 steals) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
