North Butler hosts Osage on Tuesday night in a Top of Iowa Conference basketball doubleheader, airing on 99 The Wave.
The teams last met Dec. 16, when Osage swept the doubleheader by a combined five points. The Bearcat girls lost by three, and the boys dropped a two-point decision.
Entering the week, the Bearcat girls are in fifth place in the Top of Iowa East standings with a 4-5 conference record. Sophomore Eden Wix leads the team in scoring and rebounding, while sophomore Zoey Thompson leads in assists.
The Osage girls are in fourth place in the Top of Iowa East, also at 4-5 in conference play. Senior Addison Marcks leads the Green Devils in scoring and rebounding, while Mylie Howe leads the team in assists.
Entering the week, the North Butler boys are allowing 41.5 points per game, ranking first in the Top of Iowa East. Osage averages scoring 60.5 points per game, with more than half of that production coming from senior Quinn Street and junior Griffin Uhlenhopp.
Head Coach Austin Guerrero says disciplined defense and valuing possessions will be keys to the game.
“I know our guys are gonna give high effort in that game, having to defend two high quality scorers, and their team just does a great job of putting the ball in the hoop,” says Guerrero. “So we’re gonna talk about being disciplined defensively, forcing them into tough shots, and they’re gonna make a few that you don’t even know what else you can do defensively to make it tougher. It’s all about the next play approach and how you keep moving forward and playing as a team and we’ll give ourselves a chance to compete in that game. And just like it came down to at the end of the last game against them at their place, it’s gonna come down to two or three possessions and what you do with that, valuing the basketball is gonna dictate the outcome of that one.”
Tipoff is scheduled for 6:15 p.m., with pregame coverage beginning at 6.
