The Heartland Lutheran Red Hornets will wrap up 2023 with a road trip to face off against the Axtell Wildcats at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. Neither of these teams found much success offensively their last time out, scoring well below their season average.
It's never fun to lose, and it's even less fun to lose 67-22, which was the final score in Heartland Lutheran's tilt against Dorchester on Thursday. Heartland Lutheran was in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 34-10.
Despite the loss, Heartland Lutheran saw an underclassman step up: Ella Francl scored nine points. Aubree Fisket was another key contributor, scoring five points.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Heartland Lutheran struggled to get the ball back on offense and finished the game with only two offensive rebounds. That's the fewest offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, Axtell's recent rough patch got a bit rougher last Monday after their third straight loss. They took a 26-13 hit to the loss column at the hands of Kenesaw. Axtell found out winning isn't easy when you're outrebounded 14 to 2 on offense.
Jerzee Smidt was Axtell's leading scorer, having posted four points.
Heartland Lutheran bumped their record down to 2-5 with that loss, which was their sixth straight at home dating back to last season. That rough patch could be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they only averaged 28.2 points per game. As for Axtell, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-7.
Friday's matchup is shaping up to be a scrappy contest: Heartland Lutheran have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 28.1 rebounds per game. It's a different story for Axtell, though, as they've been averaging only 26 rebounds per game. Given Heartland Lutheran's sizeable advantage in that area, Axtell will need to find a way to close that gap.
Heartland Lutheran was dealt a bruising 55-12 loss at the hands of Axtell in their previous meeting back in December of 2022. Thankfully for Heartland Lutheran, Lexie Eckhoff (who scored 26 points along with seven rebounds) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
