Preview: Basketball vs. SM West

Girls’ Basketball:

Coming off of their third straight win of the season, the 4-3 girls’ basketball team looks to take on the SM West Vikings tonight. The Vikings have had a similar season to the Lancers, losing by wide margins in their opening games and pulling off close wins against opponents such as Olathe East.

The Lancers, meanwhile, are coming off of their third win of the season against Olathe East, who they beat by 10 points. This season, the key components for the Lancers have been three point shooting from guards such as freshman Kyle Haverty, junior Hannah Nick and senior Erin McGinley, along with strong post performances from senior Molly Ross.

This is head coach Austin Klumpe’s first season as the Lady Lancers head coach, and his focus on this season has been on up-tempo play on offense and defense.

“I think that [the wins] will give us a lot more confidence going into the game,” senior Emily Dodd said. “We now know that we can take advantage of being the underdog and just go out and play our game.”

The girls’ tipoff is at 5:30 p.m. and will not be broadcasted by The Harbinger. However, follow the action live on the Harbie Sports twitter account. The game is held at SM West and the game theme is SEC Gameday.

Boys’ Basketball:

After their loss on Tuesday against Olathe East, the Lancers face off against the SM West Vikings tonight. Their conference records are very similar, with the Lancers 2-1 and the Vikings 1-2, and the two teams are expected to be equally matched.

This season has been filled with close games for the Lancers, after a buzzer beater loss in the championship game of their tournament at SM North against Bishop McGuiness. Last week’s game against SM North was also close, with the Lancers pulling out a 62-56 victory.

The key gamechanger for the Lancers has been junior post Lucas Jones, who scored 23 points in the SM North game, including a dunk in the third quarter. Outside shooting has also been a key factor for the Lancers, led by junior Gunnar Englund and senior Collin Burns.

“The records tonight don’t mean anything,” Burns said. “We’ve just gotta show up and play.”

The boys’ tipoff is at 7 p.m. The game will be held at SM West and the game theme is also SEC Gameday. Can’t make it to the game? Catch the broadcast here.

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