The Pender Pendragons will face off against the North Central Knights at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are coming into the contest red-hot, with Pender sitting on seven straight wins and North Central on four.
Pender is headed into the game after thoroughly thrashing Howells-Dodge: they outscored them in every quarter. Pender put the hurt on Howells-Dodge with a sharp 69-44 victory on Thursday. The Pendragons have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 18 matchups by 22 points or more this season.
Maya Dolliver continued her habit of posting crazy stat lines, going 6-for-8 from beyond the arc en route to 25 points in addition to seven boards and five assists. What's more, she also posted a 75% three-point shooting accuracy, which is the highest she's achieved since back in December of 2024. Another player making a difference was Hadley Walsh, who went 7-for-10 to rack up 16 points and five rebounds.
Meanwhile, it may have taken overtime to finish the job, but North Central ultimately got the result they hoped for on Thursday. They were the clear victor by a 48-25 margin over Neligh-Oakdale. Things were looking grim for the Knights in the fourth quarter (they were down by 25) but they stormed back to get the contest.
North Central's win came from a few key players Pender will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Karlene Kepler, who posted 13 points and seven boards. Mya Lewis was another key player, almost dropping a double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds.
North Central smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 18 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive boards in six consecutive games.
Pender's win was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 24-2. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 29 points. As for North Central, their victory bumped their record up to 14-11.
Keep an eye on the arc in Friday's matchup: Pender has made nailing deep shots look easy this year this season, having averaged 8.7 threes per game. It's a different story for North Central, though, as they've been averaging only 3.7 three-pointers. Given Pender's sizable advantage in that area, North Central will need to find a way to close that gap. Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other basketball content.
