The Lincoln Southwest Silver Hawks were the 48-38 winner over the Bellevue East Chieftains when they last played one another back in December of 2021, but their luck changed this time around. Lincoln Southwest fell just short of Bellevue East by a score of 62-59. Having run the score up that high, both teams might be doing some extra defensive drills very soon.
When it comes to explaining why Lincoln Southwest lost on Saturday, one person who can't be blamed is Kennadi Williams. Despite the final result, she scored 12 points along with eight assists and six steals. That's the first time this season that Williams posted eight or more assists. Another player making a difference was Hayden Rathe, who scored 13 points along with six rebounds.
Even though they lost, Lincoln Southwest were working as a unit and finished the game with 18 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.
Bellevue East's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but TNiyah Wilson-Smith led the charge by scoring 21 points along with six assists. Brani Jackson was another key contributor, scoring 16 points along with two steals.
Lincoln Southwest's defeat dropped their record down to 13-3. As for Bellevue East, they have been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six matches, which provided a nice bump to their 10-6 record this season.
Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Lincoln Southwest will take on Lincoln Northeast at 5:45 p.m. on Tuesday. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are ranked near one another in Nebraska (Lincoln Northeast is ranked 31st, while Lincoln Southwest is ranked 28th). As for Bellevue East, Bellevue East and Lincoln High will face off at 5:30 p.m. on February 2nd without much rest after finishing up games yesterday.
