North Central is 8-1 against Burwell since December of 2014, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Tuesday. The North Central Knights will square off against the Burwell Longhorns at 7:30 p.m. Hopefully North Central focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 25 on Thursday.
After soaring to a 31-point victory in their last game, North Central came back down to earth on Thursday. They fell just short of Valentine by a score of 39-36. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest defeat North Central has suffered since December 29, 2023.
North Central's defeat came about despite a quality game from Morgan Lewis, who scored 16 points along with six rebounds and five steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Karlene Kepler, who scored eight points.
Even though they lost, North Central smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 17 offensive rebounds. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Valentine only pulled down ten offensive rebounds.
Meanwhile, Burwell entered their tilt with Heartland Lutheran with two consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with three. Burwell strolled past Heartland Lutheran with points to spare on Friday, taking the game 43-26. Burwell pushed the score to 39-18 by the end of the third, a deficit Heartland Lutheran cut but never quite recovered from.
Kaitlyn Simpson had an outrageously good game as she dropped a double-double on 15 points and 16 rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points she has scored all season. Another player making a difference was Kaitlyn Hughes, who scored eight points along with five assists and four steals.
North Central has traveled a rocky road recently having lost three of their last four contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 11-9 record this season. As for Burwell, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won six of their last seven contests, which provided a massive bump to their 14-8 record this season.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: North Central have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 31.2 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Burwell struggles in that department as they've been averaging 29.2 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
North Central strolled past Burwell in their previous meeting back in December of 2023 by a score of 45-26. Does North Central have another victory up their sleeve, or will Burwell turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
