Frigid cold temperatures will not hold off the rivalry of Aplington-Parkersburg and Dike-New Hartford basketball, as they will meet in an NICL doubleheader rematch on Friday. It’ll air on 99 The Wave and RadioOnTheGo’s YouTube Channel.
The Aplington-Parkersburg girls (6-8, 5-7 NICL) will look to rebound from a three game slide, which included a 49-34 loss to #10 (2A) Grundy Center on Tuesday. The Falcons shouldn’t be underestimated defensively with 13.3 steals per game. Kolbie Wangsness leads the team with 10.9 points and 8.9 rebounds per game.
The Dike-New Hartford girls (8-7, 7-6 NICL) won 48-30 at Columbus Catholic on Tuesday. The Wolverines earn extra possessions with 12.7 offensive rebounds per game. Payton Foster leads the team with 11.7 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. Head Coach Matt Dove on the rematch.
“We had a tough game against AP before Christmas. I don’t doubt that we’re going to get their best shot when they come to Dike. I was able to go over watch them play against Denver the other night. They’ve definitely improved a ton. We’ll have to make sure that we’re focused and locked in for that one. Otherwise, it’ll be a tough one for us,” says Dove. Our girls have got the right mindset. They know coming into this time of the year, it’s when things kind of ramp up a little bit. You got to have a little bit of sense of urgency. I like the mindset from the team. I have no doubt that we’re ready to go.”
The #9 (2A) Aplington-Parkersburg boys (10-3, 10-2 NICL) fell in a thriller 74-69 to #6 (2A) Grundy Center on Tuesday. Tyler Wedeking paces the team with 18.6 points and three assists per game. Head Coach Aaron Thomas says they’ll need to perform at a high degree of intensity to bounce back.
“They’re playing much better. They’re playing well. We gotta be ready to go. We talked, we can’t hang our head on tonight and then lose another one, we shouldn’t. We gotta be ready to go. We need two good days of practice to play against a DNH team that’s really improved.”
The Dike-New Hartford boys (6-9, 5-8 NICL) will look to halt a two game slide, which included a 69-54 loss at Columbus Catholic on Tuesday. Dawson Dietrick leads the team with 13.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.
Pregame coverage will begin at 6:00 p.m. followed by the tip off at 6:15 p.m. in Dike.
