The North Butler girls and boys basketball teams will have the opportunity to defend their home floor one final time in 2024 as they host Osage for Top of Iowa Conference East doubleheader on Tuesday.
The North Butler girls (1-3, 1-3 TIC-East) will look to put a stop to a three game slide including a 45-20 conference loss at #12(1A) Saint Ansgar on Friday. The Bearcats keep the ball moving on offense with 9.5 assists per game. Zoey Thompson is averaging 10 points per game and Eden Wix has eight rebounds per game to lead the team.
Head Coach Jordan Nolz on studying film to further improvement.
“When you get into a real game situation and play, you can kind of point out some of the things that are going on in those games where, our attitudes change, our pace changes,” says Nolz. “A lot of our time spent on film these first two weeks will just be looking at our games. Going back to see this is what we did great on and look at the result, this is what we struggle with and here’s why. Then we try to work through those things in practice.”
The Osage girls (1-4, 0-3 TIC-East) have also lost three straight games including a 63-38 non-conference loss to Crestwood on Thursday. Addison Marcks is averaging 14.6 points and 9.2 rebounds as the Green Devils top performer.
Both teams have struggled with turnovers, as the Bearcats are averaging 27 and the Green Devils 22.8 turnovers per game.
The North Butler boys (1-3, 1-3 TIC-East) enter off a 39-30 conference loss at Saint Ansgar on Friday. The Bearcats will look to continue to increase scoring output above their season average of 40 points per game. Jarret Shear with six points and Kamdon Boos with 5.8 lead scoring, Ryan Austin has handled the boards with nine rebounds per game. The Bearcats defense is amongst the conference leaders in points allowed with 43.5 per game (third best in TIC-East).
Head Coach Austin Guerrero on the skilled guard play of Green Devils and taking pride in defense.
“Osage to start the week is going to be a tough battle. They probably have some of the most skilled individual players in the Top of Iowa East Conference, and they’re more guard-oriented. That’s going to put a lot of pressure on our guys, defensively around the perimeter, to limit their good shots,” says Guerrero. “We take a ton of pride in our defense, and we really believe that our game plan will be solid. We trust our defensive morals and our defensive habits that will force those guards in tough situations. We’ll like our chances with Osage if we can handle the ball, take care of it and value it on the offensive side.”
The Osage boys (4-1, 2-1 TIC-East) are on a four game win streak, including a 62-48 win over Crestwood in non-conference play on Thursday. Madden Uhlenhopp with 17.6 points and Quinn Street with 15.8 points per game lead the Green Devils.
Action begins at 6:15 p.m. in Greene.
