The Lutheran-Northeast Eagles will head out on the road to take on the Summerland [Clearwater/Ewing/Orchard] Bobcats at 6:15 p.m. on Friday. Lutheran-Northeast will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps Nebraska Rankings (they are ranked 217th, while Summerland [Clearwater/Ewing/Orchard] is ranked 60th).
Lutheran-Northeast struggled with offensive rebounds on Tuesday (Laurel-Concord-Coleridge had ten more) and sadly the final score reflected it. Lutheran-Northeast lost to Laurel-Concord-Coleridge at home by a decisive 50-34 margin.
The losing side was boosted by Emerson Scott, who scored ten points. She is trending in the right direction, as she's improved her point production for three games straight. Kendra Petersen was another key contributor, scoring six points.
Meanwhile, Summerland [Clearwater/Ewing/Orchard] came up short against Elgin/Pope John on Thursday and fell 53-45. The defeat unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Summerland [Clearwater/Ewing/Orchard] in their matchups with Elgin/Pope John: they've now lost five in a row.
Summerland [Clearwater/Ewing/Orchard]'s loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Lydia Robertson, who scored 18 points along with six rebounds and three steals, and Adyson Mlnarik who scored 14 points along with six rebounds and five steals. Mlnarik is crushing the steal category: she's posted at least two every time she's taken the court this season. Another player making a difference was Jenna Funk, who scored two points along with six rebounds and two steals.
Lutheran-Northeast has been struggling recently as they've lost six of their last eight matches, which is still a better percentage than their 4-16 record this season. As for Summerland [Clearwater/Ewing/Orchard], their defeat ended a seven-game streak of away wins and brought them to 15-5.
Friday's matchup is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Lutheran-Northeast have been dynamite from deep this season, having made 66.5% of their threes per game. However, it's not like Summerland [Clearwater/Ewing/Orchard] struggles in that department as they've made 37.9% of their threes this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Lutheran-Northeast came up short against Summerland [Clearwater/Ewing/Orchard] when the teams last played back in February of 2023, falling 49-42. Thankfully for Lutheran-Northeast, Hadley Cheatum (who almost dropped a double-double on 21 points and nine 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.
