Nebraska state girls high school basketball recap

Video: Hannah Core's highlights vs. Crete
Watch the Bluejay's senior guard in action.

It's ladies up first in Nebraska when it comes to putting on the show and deciding which girls basketball teams will be crowned state basketball champion. And while many of the same name programs were back in the hunt on championship Saturday, the Cornhusker State produced some stunning upsets as well.

Five-time defending champion Crofton came in wearing the Class C2 favorite tag once again. Only this time Diller-Odell (Odell) came in and didn't bat an eye in knocking off the Warriors 52-45 in one of Thursday's quarterfinal contests. Defending Class B champion Elkhorn South (Omaha) was a no show after Thursday, as well, getting bumped by Seward 38-37 in overtime.

One of the rematches many fans were waiting to see did transpire. But there were some tense moments for fans of defending Class C1 state champion Kearney Catholic (Kearney). The Stars were down 31-17 late Friday in the third period against Ord before rallying for a 44-37 triumph. Lincoln Christian (Lincoln), meanwhile, eased into the much awaited rematch of Nebraska's third largest classification by drilling 14 of 20 shots from beyond the arc in an 84-53 trouncing of former No. 1 Bishop Neumann (Wahoo).

A year ago, the Crusaders led the Stars by seven points heading into the final period before falling 39-37. Kearney Catholic found itself in that same boat Saturday, trailing 38-31 after 24 minutes of play. Rick Petri's club then scored the next six points to pull within one of the Crusaders taking fans from both schools back to 2016.

However, a layup by Emily Hollenbeck and five of six shooting for the Crusaders from the free throw line, late, allowed Lincoln Christian to hold off the hard charging Stars to win the school's second girls state basketball championship. Ashlyn Power and Taytem Coleman led the way for the champions with 11 and 10 points respectively, while Anna Squiers scored a game-high 22 points for Kearney Catholic.

Lexis Haase pulled off some heroics for Guardian Angels Central Catholic (West Point) as the northeast Nebraska power won its sixth girls state basketball championship in its 20th straight trip to the tournament with a 53-50 double overtime thriller over Dundy County-Stratton (Benkelman).

Haase completed a three-point play following her steal and layup with 2:33 left in the second overtime period, and then banked in a 3-pointer just over a minute later to put the Bluejays up 53-47.

Kami Porter, who led all scorers with 20 points, drilled a shot from beyond the arc to pull the Tigers within 53-50 with 16-seconds left. Her last second attempt as time was running down came up short. Emily Jones added 10 points for the runner-ups. Haase led the champions with 19 points and Maddie Knobbe and Makayla Tomka chipped in 12 points each.

In other action Saturday, Howells-Dodge (Howells) Jaguar Sam Brester's nine points were enough to push her to 13th place on the state tournament career-scoring chart with 197 points. Those nine points were also the difference in a 39-30 state championship triumph over Diller-Odell. South Sioux City claimed its state-leading 12th championship with a 48-44 win over Norris in the Class B title game. Alex Barada and Jaden Ferguson combined for 35 points as Lincoln Southwest claimed its first girls state basketball championship with a 56-51 win over Millard South (Omaha) in overtime in Class A. And Sacred Heart (Falls City) separated from fellow small school power Wynot 48-36 in the Class D2 championship clash.

Dominant programs
The legacy of senior classes is discussed quite often this time of year as the state basketball tournaments begin to wind down, 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 these past four basketball seasons. The answer? 12. Millard West (Omaha), South Sioux City, York, Kearney Catholic, Bishop Neumann, Crofton, St. Cecilia (Hastings), Guardian Angels Central Catholic, Dundy County-Stratton, Falls City Sacred Heart, St. Mary's (O'Neill) and Wynot. Although they didn't all win state titles it is an obnoxious feat just the same. Another 16 schools qualified for the girls state basketball tournament in three of the last four seasons and just 102 different girls basketball programs have competed at Nebraska's March Madness since 2014.

Battling beyond regulation
Say what you will about last year's girls state basketball tournament being the closest in tournament history. True, last season was the closest as far as combined point differential in the championship games goes. But when it comes to overtime games and extra periods in a state tournament – no other tournament matched last weekend – at least as far back as 1998. Six of the 46 girls basketball games played last weekend went to overtime, and eight extra periods were required to settle the outcome of those contests. The 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2012 tournaments led the way with the previous high of four overtime games. In 2009 five extra periods were required to settle its four overtime contests.

Championship coaches
Class A – Jeff Rump, Lincoln Southwest
Class B – Molly Hornbeck, South Sioux City
Class C1 – Nick Orduna, Lincoln Christian
Class C2 – Scott Polacek, Howells-Dodge
Class D1 – Jerry Stracke, Guardian Angels Central Catholic
Class D2 – Luke Santo, Falls City Sacred Heart

Consolation champions
Consolation titles were awarded in the smallest divisions. Bishop Neumann, Ravenna, North Central (Bassett) and St. Mary's all ended the season on winning notes Saturday after coming up short in semifinal games Friday.

Class C1 – Bishop Neumann 55, Ord 52
Class C2 – Ravenna 65, Ponca 52
Class D1 – North Central 61, Heartland (Henderson) 53 (2OT)
Class D2 – St. Mary's 49, Exeter-Milligan (Exeter) 38

Single-game scoring outbursts
30 – McKenna Minter, Lincoln Northeast, in a 65-61 Class A semifinal loss to champion Lincoln Southwest.
29 – Megan Miigerl, Ravenna, in a 57-44 Class C2 quarterfinal win over North Platte St. Patrick's.
28 – Allison Bauer, Elm Creek, in a 66-51 Class D1 quarterfinal loss to North Central.
25 – Michaela Gaislerova, Lincoln Christian, in an 84-53 Class C1 semifinal win over Bishop Neumann.
25 – Sam Brester, Howells-Dodge, in a 58-41 Class C2 quarterfinal win over Cambridge.
25 – Madison Hajek, Diller-Odell, in a 52-45 Class C2 quarterfinal win over Crofton.
25 – Lexis Haase, Guardian Angels Central Catholic, in a 67-50 Class D1 semifinal win over North Central.
24 – Aspen Jansa, Bishop Neumann, in a 55-52 Class C1 consolation championship win over Ord.

Three-game individual scoring outbursts
Lexis Haase, Guardian Angels Central Catholic, 57
Sam Brester, Howells-Dodge, 56
Cortney Arkfeld, Wynot, 55
Alex Barada, Lincoln Southwest, 54
Aspen Jansa, Bishop Neumann, 53
Jaden Ferguson, Lincoln Southwest, 52
Anna Squiers, Kearney Catholic, 51
Jadyn Bussinger, North Central, 51
Michaela Gaislerova, Lincoln Christian, 48
Jade Hill, Falls City Sacred Heart, 47

They said it
"Macey plays the game on the razor's edge," Howells-Dodge Class C2 state champion coach Scott Polacek told the Norfolk Daily News after his junior Macey Kulhanek scored 43 state tournament points despite not being a starter. "She's on the fringe of out of control. In that case, she makes tremendous plays. This girl has no fear."

"They're a great program, and we've battled them five times in the last eight years," Wynot coach Steve Wieseler told the Yankton Daily Press and Dakotan after falling to Falls City Sacred Heart in the D2 title game Saturday. "A lot of credit to their team; their program."

"We were going to play hard regardless," Diller-Odell coach John Mohr told the Lincoln Journal Star after his squad pulled the upset of the tournament, maybe many tournaments, with a stunning 52-45 win over Class C2 five-time defending state champion Crofton on Thursday. "We just wanted to get out to a good start to get some confidence and we were able to do that. We made some plays, gradually built a lead and didn't back down."

"Oh, wow, that's amazing," Michaela Gaislerova told the Lincoln Journal Star after finding out that she and her Lincoln Christian teammates knocked down 14 3-pointers in an 84-53 semifinal win over Bishop Neumann on Friday. "I'm so happy with the depth on our team. Everyone can hit shots and that's hard to defend."

"I had a lot of confidence in that shot," Lincoln Southwest's Alex Barada told the Lincoln Journal Star after burying a 26-foot 3-pointer from the top of the key to give her team its first lead of the second half in the Class A state title game with a little less than six minutes left. "I'm kind of streaky like that. I get a lot of confidence after I hit my first shot. Then I keep shooting."

"We told ourselves this is not how we want to end our career," Kylie Thiele told the Kearney Hub after Class C1 defending state champion Kearney Catholic found itself trailing Ord 31-17 in the third quarter of their semifinal match Friday. "We knew that's not how we wanted to go out – especially losing to Ord. We just fought hard and we were able to come back."