The 2023/24 High School basketball season tips off tonight around the area. The Broken Bow girls and boys basketball teams will begin their seasons on the road as they travel to Loup City to take on the Arcadia/Loup City Rebels. In the girls game, ALC is looking to improve on a 5-18 season from a year ago. Broken Bow finished last season at 17-6 overall. Visiting with KCNI/KBBN sports during the Winter Sports Tip Off event, head coach Kelly Cooksley said that defense will be one of the keys in improving on last year’s record.
“We’ve got to get a little better defensively and I think that’s where we’re going to make hay this year. If we can flip that script a little bit from last year and rebound a little bit better and take care of the ball a little bit better I really think we’ll flip some of those losses into wins. We’ve got to do it though and buy into it. So far so good. We’re getting better at it.”
In the boys game, both teams are looking to improve on their win / loss records from last season. Broken Bow boys head basketball coach Nate Olson told KCNI/KBBN sports that he has been very pleased with the competitive attitude of this year’s team.
“They’re just competitors right now. I really truly believe that. I don’t know if we’ve had a more competitive group up to this point. We’ve really drilled competing in every single drill that we are doing. There’s always a winner always a loser. They’re picking up a lot of small cues that we’re just trying to get them to be able to read the game whatever it is. There’s not much experience coming from this team. We’re a young team. I think them locking eyes with you when we’re talking and going through a drill. There’s not much “lollygagging” in between drills. We’re getting in and out of things quick. We’re trying to be efficient and they are running with it. That’s one thing that I absolutely admire about it and we drill it every day.”
Tonight’s games between Broken Bow and Arcadia/Loup City will be broadcast on KBBN 95.3 FM and kbbn.com. A live video stream, accompanied by the radio call, will also be available through sandhillsexpress.com on the Sandhills Express Facebook page and You Tube channel. The girls varsity game is scheduled to tip off at 6 p.m. with the boys varsity to follow.
Other area basketball matchups scheduled for tonight include:
Anselmo-Merna vs Paxton at North Platte Community College
Mullen at Sutherland
Burwell at Fullerton
Cozad vs Chase County
Gothenburg vs Lexington
The Broken Bow wrestling team begins its season tonight hosting Wood River and Arcadia/Loup City for a triangular. There are new weight divisions in Nebraska high school wrestling this season. Broken Bow head wrestling coach Ed Schaaf said the new divisions may benefit the team in some ways but may hurt in others.
“It’s one of those things. I don’t get too worked up about it because I have no say over it. It helps some of our kids because we have some kids that may be able to see the varsity mat because they added another weight in the middle and it hurts some of our older kids that have been biding their time and now all of a sudden they are taking away one of those weight classes but it’s life. We have no say over it. So it’s how we react to it.”
Other area wrestling teams beginning their season today include:
Ansley/Litchfield hosting a quad with Axtell, Elm Creek, Pleasanton in Litchfield
SEM at Elwood for a dual with Hi-Line
Burwell hosting a wrestling Quad
