The Elm Creek Buffaloes entered their tilt with the Bertrand Vikings with two consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with three. Elm Creek wrapped up 2023 with a 50-34 win over Bertrand. Given Elm Creek's advantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 72nd, while Bertrand is ranked 202nd), the result on Friday wasn't entirely unexpected.
Elm Creek's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Ryann Erickson, who scored ten points along with seven rebounds and six steals. Erickson hasn't dropped below two steals for five straight games. The team also got some help courtesy of Kendal Cavenee, who scored 19 points along with five steals.
Elm Creek has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 7-3 record this season. As for Bertrand, their loss was their third straight on the road, which bumped their record down to 3-4.
Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Elm Creek will take on Loomis at TBD on Friday. Hopefully Loomis focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 12 on Tuesday. Bertrand and Wilcox-Hildreth will face off at 6:00 p.m. on January 2nd without much rest after finishing up games yesterday. Wilcox-Hildreth has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games.
