Central Nebraska Prep Sports
Girl's State Basketball Tournament Semi Final Observations
I caught 4 games at the Girls State Tournament today and it was quite a kick experiencing my first ever try at that. I’m ashamed to say I’ve never been in attendance before, but solemnly promise it won’t happen again….too much fun!
The neatest to see is families together having a great time. That is nothing short of precious. Seems like family members are so busy, time together is a rare commodity.
That’s one of the reasons I like 3rd Place games. Just gives those who hit the State as a family to have one more day to have a blast, win or lose. Super Cool.
Mercy me, did I see some DEEEE being implemented today to the max! The Crofton-Bennington game was a game of runs. The Lady Warriors tuned the ball over 11 times in the first quarter, but still trailed only 9-4. It took maroon girls 2:35 before they hit a bucket in the opening stanza. Leading scorer Caitlin Jones couldn’t hit the board in that second quarter until the 5:08 mark, missing some key lay-ups. They recovered in the second, but the deficit was still about the same at the half as they trailed 28-22. In the 3rd, Crofton came out smoking and outscored the Badgers 15-7 after scoring the first 11 points and going on a sweet 15-2 surge. But the Badgers finished the quarter with a 5-0 run and then DID NOT allow a single field goal in the entire money quarter. Crofton didn’t score a point until Sanger sank a charity toss with 2:21 remaining in the contest. Bennington recovered to win the thing 51-40, but defense in the 4th was very, very effective.
Bennington has some great tools on offense as well as defense. That Freshman guard Karlee Ganesbom is a doozy! 6-3 Kelsey Hansen is such a force inside and is a rebounding machine. We’ll see if Bennington can reverse the 20 point loss they suffered to Neumann in the regular season when the two meet tomorrow for all the
C-1 marbles.
Wahoo Neumann 55-30 Kimball
You just have to take off your hats to the invaders from the West for the first half they put together against the mighty Lady Cavs. How in the world they had a 25-22 lead was amazing, considering the constant pressure that was applied to the point of making it difficult to move. Danielle Perry nailed 3 treys in that 1st half to help things a bunch, but man did the walls come tumbling down in the second half when Neumann decided to get their steal/transition/lay-up drill going full bore!
They outscored Kimball 33-5 in that half and put on a defensive display that had me shaking my head. My goodness, do the Cavaliers have some athletes or what? They pretty much shut down Kimball’s very fine Kayli Rageth the entire game, but especially in the last half. When Bishop Neumann goes to their half court game, it’s usually very predictable…….McKenzie Fujan brings it up, goes to the left top of the key, fires it right to Reeves, she fires it to the corner to Holly Fujan, who then gives it back to Sara Reeves. Then entire thing works in reverse and Holly is on her way to the other side, but stops and is alone for an easy lay-in more often than not.. Easy to telegraph right?
WRONG. Try to stop the speed, crisp passes and swift feet. Poetry in motion.
That inside 6 footer, Stanek is a fine player also. This Wahoo Neumann team is really something to see, but you have to give Kimball credit too. They made it to the Semi’s and played a great half against a great team. Sometimes there just isn’t talent to match the numbers on the opposing team.
Bell. West 75-50 Omaha Marian
Well, if the Thunderbirds can shoot from the outside like they did today, they’ll give Lincoln SE a run like they did in an earlier 3 point loss. FIVE different gals nailed three’s . Myhiah Dotzler had 3 herself. I saw a couple of things that are no-noz when you play Bell. West. DO NOT let them get into their transition/running game. Trying to get inside is usually difficult with big Sophomore Akin-Otiko and the super fine Emily Hauder waiting to put the crunch on you. Two very good players. The ’Birds are deep too, so this will be of great value Saturday, but IMO, they MUST hit those outside shots to stay with the Southeast machine.
Seward 44-21 Alliance
How would you like to get held SCORLESS in the 1st quarter, score only two points in the FIRST HALF, and have maybe the best player in the State held to 0 for 2 from the field? How good is Seward? And, get this. Seward has a non-starter named Laural Wagner shutting down Jordan Hooper most of the time. Hooper never got in the flow of the game….couldn’t. If she tried to get inside, the 6-4 Alyssa Kamphaus and 6-2 Emily Cady were waiting. I never saw Jordan so frustrated. A masterful job by a Seward team that is going to good for a looooong time. Coach Tom Tverdy has things cooking in the land of the Bluejays. Another VERY good Freshman on the scene is Seward’s Beth Bohuslavsky. Oh, My! This kid can flat out play with ball handling skills, see-the-floor smarts and a nose for the ball on defense. Alliance actually was only outscored 24-19 in the second half, but the clamps on Hooper spelled doom for the Bulldogs. I knew how Seward was when with just a few ticks left, the last two girls off the bench entered the game. My apologies for not remembering the gals name, but she was pressured in back court, dribbles behind her back to cross the time line, then buries a three…..bang! Sad thing for future opponents….Seward loses NO STARTERS. Only one Senior departs, crowd favorite, Dakota Duer.
Tomorrow’s Class B final should be a gem, with a fine Pius team facing the Bluejays for the crown. Seward won an earlier meeting 49-40...we’ll see. Also can’t forget the fine season Alliance had. Did the Adams Central game Thursday take too much juice of ‘em?
Pretty good action today. Man, has girls hoops come a long, long way over the years!
If you are missing girls hoops just for the simple reason you think it’s not good basketball, think again. If you can’t make it to Lincoln Saturday, turn on the tube and catch some Championship action…..These young Ladies can PLAY the game! I never miss another Girls State Tournament. That’s a promise.
The neatest to see is families together having a great time. That is nothing short of precious. Seems like family members are so busy, time together is a rare commodity.
That’s one of the reasons I like 3rd Place games. Just gives those who hit the State as a family to have one more day to have a blast, win or lose. Super Cool.
Mercy me, did I see some DEEEE being implemented today to the max! The Crofton-Bennington game was a game of runs. The Lady Warriors tuned the ball over 11 times in the first quarter, but still trailed only 9-4. It took maroon girls 2:35 before they hit a bucket in the opening stanza. Leading scorer Caitlin Jones couldn’t hit the board in that second quarter until the 5:08 mark, missing some key lay-ups. They recovered in the second, but the deficit was still about the same at the half as they trailed 28-22. In the 3rd, Crofton came out smoking and outscored the Badgers 15-7 after scoring the first 11 points and going on a sweet 15-2 surge. But the Badgers finished the quarter with a 5-0 run and then DID NOT allow a single field goal in the entire money quarter. Crofton didn’t score a point until Sanger sank a charity toss with 2:21 remaining in the contest. Bennington recovered to win the thing 51-40, but defense in the 4th was very, very effective.
Bennington has some great tools on offense as well as defense. That Freshman guard Karlee Ganesbom is a doozy! 6-3 Kelsey Hansen is such a force inside and is a rebounding machine. We’ll see if Bennington can reverse the 20 point loss they suffered to Neumann in the regular season when the two meet tomorrow for all the
C-1 marbles.
Wahoo Neumann 55-30 Kimball
You just have to take off your hats to the invaders from the West for the first half they put together against the mighty Lady Cavs. How in the world they had a 25-22 lead was amazing, considering the constant pressure that was applied to the point of making it difficult to move. Danielle Perry nailed 3 treys in that 1st half to help things a bunch, but man did the walls come tumbling down in the second half when Neumann decided to get their steal/transition/lay-up drill going full bore!
They outscored Kimball 33-5 in that half and put on a defensive display that had me shaking my head. My goodness, do the Cavaliers have some athletes or what? They pretty much shut down Kimball’s very fine Kayli Rageth the entire game, but especially in the last half. When Bishop Neumann goes to their half court game, it’s usually very predictable…….McKenzie Fujan brings it up, goes to the left top of the key, fires it right to Reeves, she fires it to the corner to Holly Fujan, who then gives it back to Sara Reeves. Then entire thing works in reverse and Holly is on her way to the other side, but stops and is alone for an easy lay-in more often than not.. Easy to telegraph right?
WRONG. Try to stop the speed, crisp passes and swift feet. Poetry in motion.
That inside 6 footer, Stanek is a fine player also. This Wahoo Neumann team is really something to see, but you have to give Kimball credit too. They made it to the Semi’s and played a great half against a great team. Sometimes there just isn’t talent to match the numbers on the opposing team.
Bell. West 75-50 Omaha Marian
Well, if the Thunderbirds can shoot from the outside like they did today, they’ll give Lincoln SE a run like they did in an earlier 3 point loss. FIVE different gals nailed three’s . Myhiah Dotzler had 3 herself. I saw a couple of things that are no-noz when you play Bell. West. DO NOT let them get into their transition/running game. Trying to get inside is usually difficult with big Sophomore Akin-Otiko and the super fine Emily Hauder waiting to put the crunch on you. Two very good players. The ’Birds are deep too, so this will be of great value Saturday, but IMO, they MUST hit those outside shots to stay with the Southeast machine.
Seward 44-21 Alliance
How would you like to get held SCORLESS in the 1st quarter, score only two points in the FIRST HALF, and have maybe the best player in the State held to 0 for 2 from the field? How good is Seward? And, get this. Seward has a non-starter named Laural Wagner shutting down Jordan Hooper most of the time. Hooper never got in the flow of the game….couldn’t. If she tried to get inside, the 6-4 Alyssa Kamphaus and 6-2 Emily Cady were waiting. I never saw Jordan so frustrated. A masterful job by a Seward team that is going to good for a looooong time. Coach Tom Tverdy has things cooking in the land of the Bluejays. Another VERY good Freshman on the scene is Seward’s Beth Bohuslavsky. Oh, My! This kid can flat out play with ball handling skills, see-the-floor smarts and a nose for the ball on defense. Alliance actually was only outscored 24-19 in the second half, but the clamps on Hooper spelled doom for the Bulldogs. I knew how Seward was when with just a few ticks left, the last two girls off the bench entered the game. My apologies for not remembering the gals name, but she was pressured in back court, dribbles behind her back to cross the time line, then buries a three…..bang! Sad thing for future opponents….Seward loses NO STARTERS. Only one Senior departs, crowd favorite, Dakota Duer.
Tomorrow’s Class B final should be a gem, with a fine Pius team facing the Bluejays for the crown. Seward won an earlier meeting 49-40...we’ll see. Also can’t forget the fine season Alliance had. Did the Adams Central game Thursday take too much juice of ‘em?
Pretty good action today. Man, has girls hoops come a long, long way over the years!
If you are missing girls hoops just for the simple reason you think it’s not good basketball, think again. If you can’t make it to Lincoln Saturday, turn on the tube and catch some Championship action…..These young Ladies can PLAY the game! I never miss another Girls State Tournament. That’s a promise.
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