The AGWSR basketball teams will return to NICL-West action Tuesday by hosting South Hardin for a doubleheader.
The AGWSR boys (2-13, 0-6 NICL-W) will go for their second consecutive win, having defeated Oelwein 56-53 Friday on a game-winning three-pointer by Ryne Pickering. Head Coach Ryley Schipper on how the team can take another step as February nears.
“Limiting our turnovers, we’ve been really setting a goal of 13 or less turnovers a night,” Schipper says. “And then limiting teams’ transition points. Both of those kind of work hand in hand. And then really working on our defensive rebounding. We’re trying to limit offensive rebounds and second chance opportunities, which have plagued us in the past. And we’ve done a better job of rebounding this year than we have in the past. And I think that’s why we’re seeing some of the closer games that we’ve been in, and giving ourselves opportunities to be in games rather than playing consistently from behind.”
South Hardin (6-9, 2-5 NICL-W) snapped a four-game losing streak with Friday’s 60-54 win at Sumner-Fredericksburg. Head Coach John Phillips says stronger second halves will help the team get to the next level.
“We’ve been playing really good first half basketball,” Phillips says. “We’ve really got to execute well in the third and fourth quarter. We tweaked a few things, and hopefully we keep that momentum going and the boys keep knocking down shots and playing good D.”
South Hardin has won 11 straight in the series, including 60-28 earlier this season.
The AGWSR girls (10-6, 3-3 NICL-W) snapped a four-game losing streak by winning their last two, including 43-36 over Oelwein Friday. They overcame shooting just 28 percent by minimizing turnovers with 10. South Hardin (5-10, 2-5 NICL-W) got back on track with Friday’s 43-37 win over Sumner-Fredericksburg. It’s been over a decade since the last South Hardin win in the series on January 9, 2015; the Cougars have won the last 19 meetings, including 53-41 earlier this season.
The doubleheader will start at 6:15 p.m.
