The Laurel-Concord-Coleridge Bears waltzed into their matchup Tuesday with two straight wins but they left with three. They walked away with a 57-45 victory over Ponca. Given Laurel-Concord-Coleridge's advantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 50th, while Ponca is ranked 132nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Laurel-Concord-Coleridge found their leader in underclassman Rena Rasmussen, who scored 22 points along with nine rebounds and four steals. That makes it three consecutive games in which Rasmussen has scored at least 25% of Laurel-Concord-Coleridge's points. Carlie Kvols was another key contributor, scoring eight points.
Despite the loss, Ponca still got an impressive performance from Aix Hughes, who scored 19 points along with seven rebounds and six steals. The contest was Hughes' fourth in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Elsie Keller, who scored ten points along with five rebounds.
Laurel-Concord-Coleridge's win bumped their record up to 4-1. As for Ponca, their loss dropped their record down to 3-2.
Laurel-Concord-Coleridge will be home for the holidays to greet Plainview at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Plainview's defense has only allowed 28.7 points per game this season, so Laurel-Concord-Coleridge's offense will have their work cut out for Laurel-Concord-Coleridge. Ponca's road trip will continue as they head out to face Vermillion at 7:30 p.m. on December 14th.
