Undefeated girls basketball teams will meet Tuesday when AGWSR hosts Hampton-Dumont-CAL for a varsity doubleheader, which will air on 104.9 KLMJ.
The Cougar girls (4-0) have jumped out to a hot start, which included two wins last week over Wapsie Valley and Union that both were largely decided with dominant second halves. With the top two scoring leaders in the NICL-West, the Cougars have created matchup problems for their first four opponents. But Head Coach David Koop says this will be the toughest test so far.
“This is going to be our defining moment of our season, one of them at least,” Koop says. “Hampton-Dumont-CAL is definitely a team that’s going to come in with a lot of energy, and they’re going to shoot a lot of shots and not be afraid to do it. And we’ve got to be ready to go from the jump, or it might be a long night for us. But yeah, we’ve got to just go do what we can do. And it’s going to take those girls coming off the bench and our starting five to knock down those shots when they’re open. And when we get to the free throw line, we’ve got to make free throws. But I’m excited. It’s good to go play competition and find out where you are at and how we match up to the rest of the state.”
Josie Kuper averages 17 points and 11.5 rebounds per game, and Trevyn Smith scores 15.8 with nine rebounds per game.
Hampton-Dumont-CAL (3-0) used a big second half to pull away from Clear Lake in Friday’s North Central Conference opener. Head Coach Miranda Stafford says her team is looking forward to playing AGWSR after being defeated 37-34 in last year’s meeting.
“It was a very physical, intense game last year, very close,” Stafford says. “We definitely have a bad taste. If you ask the girls, they feel like they let one go that they could have got last year. So they’re focused, they’re ready. They’ve got some good guards, some physical guards who can play. And then of course, when you’ve got an over six foot post who is not one dimensional, you’ve got to be ready to defend her.”
Brooklyn Valley leads a multi-dimensional team with 11.7 points per game.
The boys game will feature a battle of teams looking for their first win. AGWSR (0-2) will look to bounce back from Friday’s 56-23 loss at Union, where they were limited offensively to no more than eight points per quarter. They’ll look for consistent scoring production from junior Bo Starr, who leads with 16 points per game.
Hampton-Dumont-CAL (0-1) will look to grow from last week’s 64-29 loss at Nevada in the season opener, and will have the advantage of a week of practice in preparation for the game.
Pregame coverage will begin at 6:00 p.m., followed by the tipoff at 6:15.
