The Kearney Bearcats lost against the Bellevue West Thunderbirds back in January of 2023, and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Saturday. Kearney took a hard 63-49 fall against Bellevue West. While losing is never fun, Kearney can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Nebraska basketball rankings (they are ranked 100th, while Bellevue West is ranked 27th).
Despite the defeat, Kearney saw an underclassman step up: Libby Province scored 13 points. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Province has scored all season. Another player making a difference was Kennidy Garner, who scored eight points.
Bellevue West's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Mia McVay led the charge by scoring 14 points along with five rebounds and two steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Naomi White, who scored 14 points along with eight assists and six rebounds.
This is the second loss in a row for Kearney and nudges their season record down to 8-7. As for Bellevue West, their win ended a four-game drought on the road and puts them at 8-6.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Kearney will take on Pius X at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Pius X is on a three-game streak of home wins, Kearney a three-game streak of away wins -- so someone will have to leave a streak behind on the court. As for Bellevue West, they will head out on the road to face off against Omaha Westside at 7:15 p.m. on Tuesday. Hopefully Omaha Westside focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 12 on Friday.
