The Harding County Ranchers will head out on the road to take on the New England Tigers at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. Harding County is currently enjoying a perfect season and no doubt want to keep things rolling.
In what's become a running theme this season, Harding County gave their fans yet another huge win on Saturday. They claimed a resounding 56-22 win over Timber Lake on the road. Given Harding County's advantage in MaxPreps' South Dakota basketball rankings (they are ranked 15th, while Timber Lake is ranked 108th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Jaelyn Wendt continued her habit of posting crazy stat lines, scoring eight points along with 11 rebounds and seven steals. She hasn't dropped below two blocks for six straight games. Another player making a difference was Claire Verhulst, who scored 11 points along with three steals.
Meanwhile, New England was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap on Saturday as they fell 49-43 to New Salem.
Harding County's win bumped their record up to 10-0. As for New England, they dropped their record down to 6-9 with that defeat, which was their third straight on the road.
Harding County beat New England 48-38 when the teams last played back in February of 2023. The rematch might be a little tougher for Harding County since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
