Basketball Game Preview: Harding County Ranchers vs. New Underwood Tigers

Harding County is 1-8 against New Underwood since January of 2015 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Saturday. The Harding County Ranchers will face off against the New Underwood Tigers at 3:00 p.m. Harding County is currently enjoying a perfect season and no doubt wants to keep things rolling.

On Friday, Harding County didn't have too much trouble with Hill City as they won 54-39. Given the Ranchers' advantage in MaxPreps' South Dakota basketball rankings (they are ranked 16th, while the Rangers are ranked 96th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Harding County found their leader in sophomore Macey Wendt, who went 6 for 15 on her way to 17 points in addition to five rebounds and four steals. The dominant performance gave Wendt a new career-high in points. The team also got some help courtesy of Brayden Padden, who posted ten points and three steals.

Harding County smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 11 offensive rebounds. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their offensive board total in three consecutive games.

Meanwhile, New Underwood was not able to break out of their rough patch on Thursday as the team picked up their fifth straight loss. They took a blow against Lyman, falling 50-16.

Harding County's win was their 16th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 12-0. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 64.6 points per game. As for New Underwood, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-9.

Everything came up roses for Harding County against New Underwood in their previous matchup back in January of 2024, as the squad secured a 59-10 victory. In that match, Harding County amassed a halftime lead of 34-4, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Saturday.