The Bellevue West Thunderbirds will head out to square off against the Lincoln Southwest Silver Hawks at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Lincoln Southwest took a loss in their last contest and will be looking to turn the tables on Bellevue West, who comes in off a win.
Bellevue West is headed into the match after thoroughly thrashing Kearney: they outscored them in every quarter. Bellevue West came out on top against Kearney by a score of 43-34 on Saturday. The win continues a trend for the Thunderbirds in their matchups with the Bearcats: they've now won four in a row.
Stevie Harley
| 02/08/25 vs Kearney | 20 |
| 01/24/25 @ Papillion-LaVista South | 16 |
| 12/20/24 vs Marian | 13 |
| 01/30/25 vs Lee's Summit West | 11 |
| 01/07/25 @ Omaha North | 10 |
| + 14 more games |
Stevie Harley was her usual excellent self, dropping a double-double on 18 points and 20 boards. She has become a key player for Bellevue West: the team is 6-1 when she posts at least ten rebounds, but 5-7 otherwise. Jaycee Woodard also deserves some recognition as she posted her first block of the season.
Bellevue West smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive boards in five consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Lincoln Southwest was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their third straight loss. They took a hard 68-51 fall against Millard West. While losing is never fun, the Silver Hawks can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 26th, while the Wildcats are ranked first).
Bellevue West will have to contain Kaytee Irons-Buettner as she made an impact in Lincoln Southwest's last game. She went 9 of 20 to rack up 22 points and six boards. Those 22 points gave Irons-Buettner a new career-high. Kallen Stauffer was another key player, putting up nine points.
Lincoln Southwest's defeat dropped their record down to 14-5. As for Bellevue West, their victory bumped their record up to 11-8.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Bellevue West has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 30.9 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Lincoln Southwest struggles in that department as they've been averaging 26.4 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Bellevue West didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against Lincoln Southwest in their previous matchup back in March of 2024, but they still walked away with a 57-51 win. Does Bellevue West have another victory up their sleeve, or will Lincoln Southwest turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
