NICL-West Rivals AGWSR and South Hardin girls basketball will meet for the third time this season, in Class 2A Region 4 quarterfinal on Tuesday, on 104.9 KLMJ. AGWSR swept the regular season meetings with a 53-41 win on December 20 and a 60-52 win on January 28.
AGWSR (14-8) concluded the regular season with a 55-22 win at Colo-Nesco on Monday, February 10. The Cougars defense doesn’t allow opposing offenses to settle in by forcing 13.7 steals per game and limits opponents to an average of 40 points per game. Josie Kuper and Trevyn Smith spark the Cougars offense with 15.9 and 13.6 points per game respectively. Kuper adds 12.6 rebounds per game.
Cougars Head Coach David Koop on playing with toughness and execution.
“They’re a good team, we got to make sure we find their shooters and don’t let them get out to a hot to start to the game, like we did the last time we played them. Now it’s gonna be a game of runs and who wants to play tougher for longer. Hopefully that’s us and I think it will be,” says Koop. “We’re gonna need a big crowd Tuesday night. The girls are gonna have to execute at a high level. I’m gonna have to have the right words of encouragement in timeouts and etc to make sure we come out with a win.”
South Hardin (9-13) concluded the regular season with a 55-47 win at BCLUW on Tuesday, February 11. The Tigers remain balanced offensively with 11 assists per game. Alli Sheldahl leads with 13.5 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.
Tigers Head Coach Nick Eller on third meeting with the Cougars and playing with discipline.
“It’s nice to know exactly what you’re getting into with this team, but they know the same thing. We also don’t always want to play someone three times. I don’t think it’s always the best either, for either team,” says Eller. “Definitely going to be a game where we’ve got to come play some of our best basketball and it’s got to be four quarters. We got to play really disciplined basketball. We can’t have the lapses of no baskets and mental breakdown on defense, different things like that. We want to beat them, it’s going to be a dog fight and a heated game.”
Coverage on 104.9 KLMJ begins at 6:40 p.m. followed by the opening tip at 7:00 p.m. in Ackley.
