The Elm Creek Buffaloes waltzed into their matchup on Thursday with five straight wins but they left with six. They claimed a resounding 50-9 win over Axtell on the road. Given Elm Creek's advantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 56th, while Axtell is ranked 267th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Elm Creek to victory, but perhaps none more so than Ashley Bauer, who scored 18 points along with eight rebounds and two steals. Ryann Erickson was another key contributor, scoring seven points along with eight steals and seven rebounds.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Axtell struggled to get the ball back on offense and finished the game with only four offensive rebounds. They were crushed by their opponents in that department as Elm Creek pulled down 25 offensive rebounds.
Elm Creek's victory was their fifth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 10-3. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 50.6 points per game. As for Axtell, they are on a eight-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 1-12.
Elm Creek will be playing in front of their home fans against Pleasanton at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. As for Axtell, they will head out on the road to take on Arapahoe on Tuesday.
