Niobrara/Verdigre won the last time they faced Ainsworth and things went their way on Thursday too. The Niobrara/Verdigre Cougars enjoyed a cozy 50-34 victory over the Ainsworth Bulldogs. Given the Cougars' advantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 102nd, while the Bulldogs are ranked 221st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Niobrara/Verdigre's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Allison Sucha, who dropped a double-double on ten points and ten boards. Niobrara/Verdigre is 11-3 when Sucha posts ten or more rebounds, but 1-2 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Eve Kucera, who dropped a double-double on 11 points and 11 boards.
Gracyn Painter and Willa Flynn certainly did their best on Thursday to avoid the loss. Painter dropped a double-double on 12 points and 11 rebounds, while Flynn posted nine points and six boards. That was a full 35.3% of Ainsworth's points, marking the third time in a row she's had more than a third of the team's points. Puridy Haley also deserves some recognition as she posted her first block of the season.
Niobrara/Verdigre has been performing well recently as they've won eight of their last ten matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 12-5 record this season. As for Ainsworth, their loss dropped their record down to 4-12.
Niobrara/Verdigre wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next game, a 65-48 victory against Santee on the 1st. As for Ainsworth, they will face off against Sandhills/Thedford at 6:00 p.m. on February 7th.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
