Seward extends winning streak to 75 games in Nebraska girls basketball

After winning two straight Class B Nebraska girls state basketball championships and putting together a 74 game winning streak, some people doubted whether Seward could play with second-ranked Elkhorn in Saturday's championship game at the Devaney Center in Lincoln.

The Bluejays answered those reservations with a resounding 70-54 triumph in the No. 1 vs. No. 2 clash.

Seward scorched the nets in the opening half, connecting on 8 of 16 shots from beyond the 3-point arc, and bolted to an 18-8 advantage at the first quarter break. The Bluejays led 39-23 at the half. In all, Seward sank 11 3-pointers in the win.

"I was surprised by how well we were shooting," Seward senior and Nebraska recruit Emily Cady said of the Bluejays' fast start. "But I guess when you play good, you shoot good. There was so much adrenaline and it just pushed us forward."

Even with the convincing advantage, Bluejay coach Tom Tvrdy wasn't about to allow his Bluejays to let up in the second half. Instead he wanted his squad to start from scratch.

"At halftime coach (Tvrdy) told us to pretend it was 0-0…the start of the game," Cady recalled after scoring 19 points in the title game. "You can't let down…just keep fighting like you did in the first half."

Sophomore guard Hannah Tvrdy added 17 points for the Bluejays, while 6-foot-2 sophomore forward Kourteney Zadina chipped in 16 points. Both Tvrdy and Zadina will play key roles next season in extending the Bluejay streak beyond 75 wins.

As she exits the program, Cady has plenty of confidence that next season could end with the same results.

"I think they'll be just fine next year," Cady said. "I know I'm going to be rooting for them."

Zadina is ready to take the torch from Cady and the rest of the Bluejay seniors and continue Seward's winning ways.

"We thought about it a little bit," Zadina admitted after being asked if the team ever looked ahead to winning a third straight title. "We didn't want to get too far ahead of ourselves, but we were striving for that goal. This feels great, since people were kind of going against us. It was great to prove to ourselves that we could do it."

Brittney Lynch led the Antlers with 19 points, while Cathleen Cox added 15 points for the runner-ups.

CLASS A – BELLEVUE EAST 52, BELLEVUE WEST 49
A year ago Wahoo's residence deserted the town to head to the Devaney Center and support the town's two basketball teams in the Class C-1 championship game. In 2011, it was Bellevue's turn to turn the lights out as both Bellevue East (Bellevue) and Bellevue West (Bellevue) battled through the bracket and into the Class A title game. The Thunderbirds had championship game experience, winning the last two Class A state titles. But it was Bellevue East that came out on top in this one. Jayla Hobza scored a game high 28 points in the title game and led Class A with a 25.7 scoring average in the tournament. West's Alexis Akin-otiko wound up second in scoring in the tournament with 73 points over the three games after tallying 18 points in the title game. Thunderbird teammate Chelsea Mason also poured in 18 points.

CLASS C1 – HASTINGS ST. CECILIA 65, WAHOO 61
A pair of sisters led each of these teams throughout the season and in the tournament. Saturday was no different. St. Cecilia (Hastings), the tournament's No. 3 seed, was powered to the title by the sister duo of Charise (16) and Shanelle (20) Farmer, who scored 36 points collectively in the win. Lexi Schmidt also reached double figures for the Hawkettes with 13 points. Mattie (22) and Sadie Murren (13) paced Wahoo to a second straight Class C1 runner-up finish by pouring in 35 points for the Warriors. Charise Farmer made four straight free throws down the stretch to seal Wahoo's fate.

CLASS C2 – HOMER 49, CROFTON 45
Sixth-seeded Homer made 15 of it's final 17 shots from the charity stripe and knocked off top-seeded Crofton because of it. In the process the Lady Knights won the school's first girls state basketball title. Kayla Brewer and Brandon Tighe paced the champions with 10 points each. Kelly Tighe and Breanna Nogelmeier added nine and eight points in the balanced championship effort. The Warriors, meanwhile, were led by Kelsey Foxhoven's 10 points. Jordan Sanger and Holly Hegge added nine points each.

CLASS D1 – HOWELLS 46, PENDER 36
Sixth-seeded Howells squeezed into the Class D1 field as a wild card. But the Bobcats displayed a championship defense throughout the tournament, giving up just 99 points for the three game sweep and securing its first girls state basketball title win. Kaitlyn Janata paced a balance Bobcat attack with eight points, while Katee Rocheford, Haley Kampschndieder and Amber Burenheide chipped in seven points a piece. Alexia Henschke and Maggie Fillipi scored 12 and 11 points respectively for the runner-ups.

CLASS D2 – WYNOT 45, HAY SPRINGS 33
Freshman Maggie Schulte led a balanced Blue Devil attack with 10 points Saturday at the Devaney Center. Steve Wieseler's squad upgraded from a runner-up finish in 2010 to championship juggernaut in 2011 after bolting to a double digit 17-7 advantage after a quarter of play. Erica Burbach and Bailey Kuchta added nine and seven points respectively. Hay Springs was led in scoring by Kelsey Kudrna's 14 points. Ashton Hughes added nine points for the Hawks.

RECORD BREAKERS
Wahoo's Mattie Murren sank six 3-pointers in Saturday's championship game to break that classification's single game record from long range. The old record of five was held by Jennifer Schliep of Sandy Creek (1993), Tiffany Volk of Battle Creek (1997), KC Cowgill of Grand Island Central Catholic and Ashley Dean of Superior (2000).

Champion Hastings St. Cecilia and consolation winner Sandy Creek combined for a Class C1 record 143 combined points in a Friday semifinal. The Hawkettes won the contest 78-65. Sandy Creek and Wisner-Pilger had a hold on the old mark of 136 points since a 69-67 Cougar win in 1992.

CLIMBING THE SCORING CHART
Bellevue West senior forward Alexis Akin Otiko improved her positioning on the tournament's all-time scoring chart for the final time Saturday. The 5-foot-10-inch Akin Otiko scored 73 points in the tournament to climb 33 spots to tenth on the chart, finishing with 202 points.

Emily Cady was not on the chart entering the 2011 tournament. But the 47 points she scored in the latest tournament carried her up the ladder to 69th with 113 points, tied with Ord's Kelli Williams (1987-89), Sandy Creek's Chris Engel (1991-93) and Falls City Sacred Heart's Katie Simon (1996-99).

CONSOLATION RESULTS
CLASS A – Millard West (Omaha) 55, Omaha Central 50
CLASS B – Holdrege 56, Beatrice 54
CLASS C1 – Sandy Creek (Fairfield) 62, Minden 45
CLASS C2 – Cedar Catholic (Hartington) 55, Aquinas (David City) 50
CLASS D1 – West Point Central Catholic 67, Chambers/Wheeler Central 60
CLASS D2 – Holy Family (Lindsay) 53, Brady 39

ATTENDANCE
Three-day attendance at the girls state basketball tournament climbed to 55,378 with a third day total of 13, 572.

NEBRASKA GIRLS STATE BASKETBALL SCORING LEADERS
CLASS A
Jayla Hobza, Bellevue East, 77 (25.7)
Alexis Akin Otiko, Bellevue West, 73 (24.3)
Chelsea Mason, Bellevue West, 71 (23.7)
Jaylan Spencer, Millard West, 60 (20.0)
Chelsea Albers, Papillion-LaVista, 17 (17.0)
Molly Hausmann, Columbus, 17 (17.0)
MVP: Jayla Hobza

CLASS B
Sam Areman, Norris, 19 (19.0)
Abby Zach, Scottsbluff, 16 (16.0)
Sydney Seberger, Lexington, 16 (16.0)
Emily Cady, Seward, 47 (15.7)
Brittney Lynch, Elkhorn, 46 (15.3)
Hannah Tvrdy, Seward, 42 (14.0)
Hailey Mandelko, Lexington, 14 (14.0)
MVP: Emily Cady

CLASS C1
Courtney Aitken, Centura, 21 (21.0)
Mattie Murren, Wahoo, 61 (20.3)
Shanelle Farmer, Hastings St. Cecilia, 50 (16.7)
Saden Murren, Wahoo, 49 (16.3)
Jamie Kissinger, Minden, 49 (16.3)
Mikaela Shaw, Sandy Creek, 46 (15.3)
Charise Farmer, Hastings St. Cecilia, 46 (15.3)
MVP: Shanelle Farmer

CLASS C2
Jessica Aratani, Morrill, 21 (21.0)
Joelle Anderson, Lincoln Christian, 19 (19.0)
Conner Novacek, David City Aquinas, 55 (18.3)
Dana Dickes, Hartington Cedar Catholic, 48 (16.0)
Tracy Peitz, Hartington Cedar Catholic, 42 (14.0)
Maria Van Kirk, Sutton, 14 (14.0)
MVP: Dana Dickes

CLASS D1
Darienne Pokorny, Newman Grove, 19 (19.0)
Alexia Henschke, Pender, 54 (18.0)
Heather Pribyl, Exeter-Milligan, 17 (17.0)
Shelby Hemmann, Amherst, 16 (16.0)
Abby Ortmeier, West Point Central Catholic, 40 (13.3)
Erin Devries, Chambers-Wheeler Central, 39 (13.0)
Lindsey Boyum, West Point Central Catholic, 39 (13.0)
Brooke Nelson, Newman Grove, 13 (13.0)
MVP: Kaitlyn Janata, Howells

CLASS D2
Kelsey Kudrna, Hay Springs, 53 (17.7)
Ashton Hughes, Hay Springs, 45 (15.0)
Kaylee Jensen, Lindsay Holy Family, 41 (13.7)
Lisa Henseleit, Elkhorn Valley, 13 (13.0)
Cami Oelsligle, Elkhorn Valley, 13 (13.0)
Courtney Widick, Brady, 34 (11.3)
MVP: Maggie Schulte, Wynot