The Bennington Badgers will challenge the Lakeview Vikings at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Bennington has three straight victories, Lakeview has four straight losses), but none of that matters once you're on the court.
Bennington is headed into the game after thoroughly thrashing Duchesne: they outscored them in every quarter. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Bennington blew Duchesne out of the water with a 77-34 final score. The Badgers have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 14 matches by 22 points or more this season.
Macie Reiner
| 02/20/25 vs Duchesne | 18 |
| 02/08/25 vs Gretna | 17 |
| 02/11/25 vs Roncalli Catholic | 12 |
| 01/14/25 @ Lincoln Northwest | 11 |
| 12/13/24 vs Elkhorn North | 11 |
Bennington found their leader in freshman Macie Reiner, who went 8-for-11 to rack up 18 points and five steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Reiner has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Reese Almquist, who posted nine points and five steals.
Meanwhile, Lakeview played a tough contest last Thursday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They lost 68-48 to Central City. While losing is never fun, the Vikings can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 153rd, while the Bison are ranked 39th).
Bennington will need to focus on slowing down Hadley Hornung, one of several Lakeview players who made an impact when they last played. She went 6-for-8 from beyond the arc en route to 20 points. Those 20 points gave Hornung a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Jaelyn Mejstrik, who scored eight points and 11 rebounds.
Even though they lost, Lakeview smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive boards. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Central City only seven offensive rebounds.
Bennington's win was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 18-4. Those victories came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 29.4 points over those games. As for Lakeview, their defeat dropped their record down to 6-17.
This contest is shaping up to be a blowout: Bennington hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 61.3 points per game. It's a different story for Lakeview, though, as they've been averaging only 37.9 points. The only thing between Bennington and another offensive beatdown is Lakeview. Will they be able to keep them contained? Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
