Two dominant guards in Brylee Minnick and Austyn Cox are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Decatur Community Red Devils will head out on the road to take on the Northern Valley Huskies at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Hopefully Decatur Community focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 13 on Tuesday.
Last Tuesday, Decatur Community came up short against Norton and fell 36-23. While losing is never fun, Decatur Community can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Kansas basketball rankings (they are ranked 143rd, while Norton is ranked 34th).
Despite the loss, Decatur Community saw an underclassman step up: Minnick scored 11 points along with seven rebounds and two steals. Another player making a difference was Jenna Fortin, who scored six points.
Meanwhile, Northern Valley took their contest on the road on Friday with ease, bagging a 60-28 win over Triplains/Brewster. With Northern Valley ahead 30-9 at the half, the match was all but over already.
Cox and Audrey Bina were among the main playmakers for Northern Valley as the former scored 23 points along with four steals and the latter dropped a triple-double on 13 points, 24 rebounds, and 12 steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Cox has scored all season. Braxton Cox was another key contributor, scoring nine points along with five assists and five rebounds.
Decatur Community's loss dropped their record down to 9-7. As for Northern Valley, they pushed their record up to 7-10 with that victory, which was their third straight on the road.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Decatur Community have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 25.4 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Northern Valley struggles in that department as they've been averaging 33.8 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Decatur Community strolled past Northern Valley when the teams last played back in January of 2023 by a score of 49-35. The rematch might be a little tougher for Decatur Community since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
