Basketball Game Preview: Northfield Nighthawks vs. Denver East Angels

Northfield is 1-7 against Denver East since February of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Wednesday. The Northfield Nighthawks will be playing at home against the Denver East Angels at 6:00 p.m. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with Northfield sitting on three straight wins and Denver East on four.

On Saturday, Northfield beat Monarch 52-40.

Northfield relied on the efforts of Madison Bethel, who posted 19 points and six steals, and Kate Snodgrass, who went 7 for 15 en route to 16 points in addition to seven boards and four blocks. That's the most points Bethel has posted since back in February of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Aliyah Herron, who scored eight points along with five rebounds and three steals.

Northfield smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with ten offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive boards in eight consecutive contests.

Meanwhile, Denver East got the win against Rangeview on Friday by a conclusive 56-36. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest victory the Angels have posted against the Raiders since January 27, 2020.

Denver East's win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 7-7. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 34 points. As for Northfield, they are on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five matchups, which provided a massive bump to their 8-6 record this season.

Northfield came up short against Denver East when the teams last played back in February of 2024, falling 63-59. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Denver East's Mairead Hearty, who dropped a double-double on 13 points and 13 boards. Now that Northfield knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.