The Lincoln Southwest boys and girls varsity basketball teams’ season begins Thursday, Nov. 30, with games against the North Platte Bulldogs. Both the boys and girls achieved winning records in their 2022-23 seasons, with the boys finishing 15-9 and the girls finishing 14-11. However, the boys did not qualify for the State Tournament while the girls were eliminated in the first round.
The boys have struggled on defense in the past, but they look to focus on teamwork to increase their chances of winning a championship.
“Going into this year, we will play more as a team,” sophomore guard Jaxyn Cruse said. “We’ll try to play more defense and play with more intensity.”
Playing with intense defense isn’t the only priority for this year’s team. The squad has 10 players with heights of 6’ or taller, seven of them with heights of 6’3″ or taller. Though half of the team is at average forward heights, the team looks to play like guards.
“On paper, our heights don’t tell the entire story,” junior guard Mari Shumaker said. “A lot of us play in the back court as guards. We can stretch the floor, and go down to the block. So it’ll be hard for teams to defend us.”
The girls team, on the other hand, made the state tournament, but lost in the first round to Millard South, 74-58. Going into the season, two players are juniors and one is a senior, leaving seven underclassmen to lead the team into the future.
“We have a lot of new players this year,” freshman forward Emersyn Wells said. “But I think it really helps the team chemistry.”
In a Dec. 9 matchup, both teams will face Millard South, the girls will face the team that ended their season the year before, as they hope to avenge their loss.
“We know what we have to do, we have to play our best,” sophomore guard Chloe Kreifels said. “We know that if we make the right choices on defense, then the offense will take care of itself.”
Following Lincoln Southwest’s Nov. 30 game against North Platte, the Silver Hawks will compete in a Dec. 2 tournament against North Platte, Lincoln Northeast and Omaha Westside. The boys will be playing at Lincoln Northeast while the girls will be playing at Lincoln Southwest.
