The Beatrice Orangemen had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 36.5 points), and they went ahead and made it three on Saturday. They narrowly escaped with a win as the team sidled past Kearney 61-58. Given Beatrice's advantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 14th, while Kearney is ranked 123rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Several Bearcats players turned in solid performances, despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Kennidy Garner, who scored 15 points. Those 15 points set a new season-high mark for her. Paige Mailahn was another key contributor, scoring 11 points.
Beatrice pushed their record up to 9-1 with that victory, which was their sixth straight on the road dating back to last season. As for Kearney, their loss ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 6-5.
Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Beatrice will take on Plattsmouth at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. Hopefully Plattsmouth focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 24 on Friday. As for Kearney, they will be playing at home against Lincoln East at 6:00 p.m. on Friday.
