With the Big Ten wrestling tournament moving on to Ann Arbor, Michigan this winter, the Nebraska girls state basketball tournament moved back to the first weekend of March, allowing the girls to have the City of Lincoln to themselves while playing for the Cornhusker State's state championship hardware.
However, the Nebraska School Activities Association opted to hold quarterfinal, semifinal and championship contests in either the Devaney Center or Pinnacle Bank Arena. In order to squeeze in 46 high school basketball games in one weekend, Wednesday was added to the schedule.
Quarterfinal contests in Classes A, B, C1, C2, D1 and D2 were held on Wednesday and Thursday while semifinal contests were once again played solely on Friday. All six championship contests were held at PBA and third place games in Classes C1, C2, D1 and D2 were played at Lincoln Northwest Saturday.
Centura kicked off championship Saturday with a narrow 44-38 win over Hastings St. Cecilia to claim the Class D1 state championship hardware. Then, following North Bend Central's 45-28 Class C1 state title win over Hastings Adams Central, Elkhorn North claimed its third straight girls state basketball title by upending Omaha Skutt Catholic 64-51 to claim the Class B title.
Pender took the Class C2 state basketball title with a 45-42 win over Oakland-Craig to kick off the evening session. Millard South then bettered Lincoln High 72-60 to claim the Class A state championship before Falls City Sacred Heart knocked off postseason rival Wynot 33-32 in the Class D2 state title tilt in Saturday's night cap.
Repeat champions Four of the six state champions from a year ago returned to the state tournament to defend their titles in 2023. Elkhorn North (Class B), North Bend Central (Class C1) and Falls City Sacred Heart (D2) successfully defended their titles while Hastings St. Cecilia fell to Centura in the Class C2 final. Defending Class A champion Fremont and last year's D1 King Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family did not qualify for the state tournament in 2023.
Record breakers Millard South's Mya Babbitt broke the All-Class record for 3-Pointers made in a state tournament game when she ripped the cords with eight made 3-pointers in a 68-47 Class A semifinal win over Bellevue West. The senior had already sunk four triples in the quarterfinals and added four more in the title contest to edge former Lincoln Southeast star Pieper Conrad's old record of 15 bombs made in a state tournament with 16 of her own in 2023.
First-time champions Centura's 44-38 triumph in the Class D1 state title contest allowed the school to claim its first girls state basketball championship. Millard South, meanwhile, broke a 27-year drought with its 12-point victory over the Links in Class A and Pender won its first championship in a decade by upending Oakland-Craig in the C2 battle for the hardware.
Dominant programs The legacy of senior classes is discussed quite often this time of year, so here at MaxPreps we decided to delve into the data to see just how many schools have played their way into Nebraska's girls state basketball tournament in each of the past four basketball seasons.
The answer? Eleven.
Crofton, Falls City Sacred Heart, Hartington Cedar Catholic, Hastings St. Cecilia, Humphrey St. Francis, Lincoln Southwest, Millard South, Norris, North Bend Central, Ponca, Wynot. Another 19 schools qualified for the girls state basketball tournament in three of the last four seasons. Twenty-six schools qualified for Nebraska's version of March Madness twice in the past four years while 39 girls basketball programs played their way into the field of 48 once since 2020.
Small town dominationFor nearly a decade and a half, the girls basketball teams from Falls City Sacred Heart, Wynot and Humphrey St. Francis have made the run for state championship hardware a three-team race in Class D2. Lindsay Holy Family was the last school outside of that ring to claim the hardware in Nebraska's smallest classification when they upended Wynot 40-37 in 2010. Ewing defeated Chambers 51-48 in overtime in 2009, the last time the D2 final didn't feature one of those three teams.
During the trio's run, Wynot and Falls City Sacred Heart have claimed seven and five state titles respectively while the Flyers won in 2021. Wynot and St. Francis are the owners of four and three state runner-up trophies during the run while the Irish can claim two second place finishes. During the 13-year run, the small school powers have combined for 22 Class D2 state championship game appearances.
Two of the three schools have gone head-to-head in each of the last seven championship contests. Wynot outscored St. Mary's 41-40 in 2016, the last time someone other than the trio competed in the championship contest.
Championship coaches Class A – Bryce Meyers, Millard South
Class B – Ann Prince, Elkhorn North
Class C1 – Aaron Sterup, North Bend Central
Class C2 – Jason Dolliver, Pender
Class D1 – Laethion Brown, Centura
Class D2 – Luke Santo, Falls City Sacred Heart
Consolation champions Consolation titles were awarded in the four smallest divisions. Bridgeport, Guardian Angels Central Catholic, Hartington Cedar Catholic and Shelton all ended the season on winning notes Saturday after coming up short in semifinal games Wednesday and Thursday.
Class C1 – Bridgeport (26-1) 69, Malcolm (22-7) 58
Class C2 – Guardian Angels Central Catholic (21-6) 54, Crofton (24-4) 32
Class D1 – Hartington Cedar Catholic (22-7) 55, Ravenna (25-4) 37
Class D2 – Shelton (24-2) 48, Humphrey St. Francis (20-8) 43
Single-game scoring outbursts 31 – Cora Olsen, Millard South, in a 74-58 Class A quarterfinal win over Lincoln Southwest Wednesday.
31 – Olivia Loomis-Goltl, Bridgeport in a 69-58 Class C1 consolation championship win over Malcolm Saturday.
30 – Britt Prince, Elkhorn North in a 62-20 Class B semifinal win over York Friday.
30 – Mya Babbitt, Millard South in a 72-60 Class A state championship win over Lincoln High Saturday.
28 – Britt Prince, Elkhorn North in a 60-40 Class B quarterfinal win over Norris Thursday.
28 – Mya Babbitt, Millard South in a 68-47 Class A semifinal win over Bellevue West Friday.
28 – Halle Dolliver, Malcolm in a 69-58 Class C1 consolation championship loss to Bridgeport Saturday.
26 – Tori Sklenar, Ravenna in a 51-37 Class D1 quarterfinal win over Sumner-Eddyville-Miller Wednesday.
26 – Britt Prince, Elkhorn North in a 64-51 Class B state championship win over Omaha Skutt Catholic Saturday.
25 – Makenna Noecker, Hartington Cedar Catholic in a 69-36 Class D1 quarterfinal win over Johnson-Brock Wednesday.
25 – Molly Ladwig, Omaha Skutt Catholic in a 73-41 Class B quarterfinal win over Waverly Thursday.
25 – Halle Dolliver, Malcolm in a 48-42 Class C1 semifinal loss to North Bend Friday.
25 – Sydney Davis, Centura in a 65-45 semifinal win over Hartington Cedar Catholic Friday.
Three-game scoring outbursts 84 – Britt Prince, Elkhorn North
72 – Mya Babbitt, Millard South
72 – Halle Dolliver, Malcolm
66 – Cora Olsen, Millard South
64 – Makenna Noecker, Hartington Cedar Catholic
58 – Sydney Davis, Centura
57 – Khloe Lemon, Millard South
57 – Olivia Loomis-Goltl, Bridgeport
53 – Chaney Nelson, Oakland-Craig
52 – Molly Ladwig, Omaha Skutt Catholic
52 – Kaitlyn Emanuel, North Bend Central
Reaching the Century MarkThree of Millard South head coach Bryce Meyers' girls basketball players left a rather high mark as they walked away from the high school game last weekend. Although they played on the same high school basketball team, Mya Babbitt (140), Cora Olsen (131) and Khloe Lemon (129) were all able to reach 100 points scored at the Nebraska State Basketball Tournament. Here is the full list of 100-point scorers that competed at this year's state tournament.
200 – Britt Prince, Elkhorn North
185 – Kaitlyn Emanuel, North Bend Central
160 – Makenna Noecker, Hartington Cedar Catholic
143 – Ruthie Lommis-Goltl, Bridgeport
140 – Mya Babbitt, Millard South
132 – Olivia Loomis-Goltl, Bridgeport
131 – Cora Olsen, Millard South
129 – Khloe Lemon, Millard South
118 – Chaney Nelson, Oakland-Craig
113 – Peyton McCabe, Omaha Skutt Catholic
111 – Sadie Nelson, Oakland-Craig
