Nebraska girls state basketball championship recap

Pleasanton, however, did kick off Championship Saturday with a 47-38 win over fellow Cornhusker State power Archbishop Bergan to claim its first girls state basketball title in its third trip to the state finals. Trailing 22-20 at intermission, Jordan Arensdorf's club took over in the final 16 minutes of the game, outscoring the Knights 27-16 in the second half.

The Bulldogs outscored the defending state champions 13-8 on points off of turnovers and tallied eight fast break points to nil for Archbishop Bergan. The Knights controlled the paint, outscoring Pleasanton 24-18 under the basket and 9-2 on second chance points. Both benches scored seven points each.

Natalie Siegel and Katy Lindner led the champions with 14 points each while Kaci Pierce added 11 points. Allie DeGroff, meanwhile, ripped the cords for 14 points and pulled down 10 boards for Archbishop Bergan.

Class C1 – North Bend Central (North Bend) 48, Lincoln Christian (Lincoln) 32
Hannah Williams hit a key 3-pointer in the second period that ignited a 9-1 North Bend run to end the half as the Tigers went into intermission up 28-17. Aaron Sterup's club then went up 42-26 heading into the final period and held off the powerhouse Crusaders.

The champions outscored Lincoln Christian 32-22 in the paint and scored 15 second chance points to just three for the Crusaders. North Bend also scored 18 points off of turnovers and the Tiger bench outscored Lincoln Christian's bench 16-2.

Sydney Emanuel led the champions with 12 points and seven rebounds while Kaitlyn Emanuel tallied eight points, five boards and four steals in the championship game. Olivia Hollenbeck and Alexis Johnson scored 12 and 11 points for Lincoln Christian respectively.

Class B – Crete 53, Beatrice 26
Led by Morgan Maly's seven third-period points, the Cardinals scored 10 of the first 12 points in the third period and stretched a 22-14 halftime advantage into a 32-18 lead going into the final eight minutes of play. The champions then outscored Beatrice 21-8 in the final period to win going away.

Beatrice did not score more than eight points in any given period, but did outscore the champions 12-2 on second chance points. John Larsen's Cardinals held a 14-0 advantage on points off of turnovers.

Maly led all scorers for the champions with 20 points, 10 rebounds and five assists while Lexi Mach and Elizabeth Allen poured in nine and eight points respectively. Mak Hatcliff and Carley Leners led Beatrice with 10 and eight points respectively. Leners also hauled in 10 boards in the title game.

Class D2 – Wynot 59, St. Francis (Humphrey) 51
After trailing 39-36 going into the final period of play, the Flyers tied the game at 41 and 46. But the champions went on an 11-2 run, capped by Amber Lawson's free throw, to go up 57-48. Lauren Pfeifer then hit a 3-pointer for Humphrey St. Francis late to pull the runners-up within six, but the Flyers could get no closer.

Wynot, who has claimed seven state championships in 10 years, outscored the Flyers 19-11 on points off of turnovers and 8-4 on fast break points. The Blue Devil bench scored 34 points to just eight for Humphrey St. Francis.

Shaelee Planer led the champions with 14 points and eight rebounds. Karley Heimes and Katelyn Heine also scored in double digits tallying 12 and 10 points respectively. Heine added four steals. Nebraska commit Allison Weidner led all scorers with 24 points and had four assists and three steals for the Flyers. Caitlin Jarosz added seven points for Humphrey St. Francis.

Class A – Pius X (Lincoln) 45, Lincoln East (Lincoln) 37
After trailing 10-8 at the conclusion of the first period, Lincoln Pius X revved up its defense and posted a second period shutout to take an 18-10 advantage at intermission. The champions scored the first five points of the final period to go up 35-20 before Lincoln East started chiseling away at the deficit. Haley Peterson's free throw capped a 15-4 Lincoln East run that pulled the Spartans within 39-35 late. Lincoln East, however, could get no closer.

The Thunderbolts held a huge advantage in the paint, outscoring the Spartans 32-12 down low. Lincoln East outscored the champions 15-9 on points off of turnovers and 12-5 on second chance points. The Spartan bench also outscored Lincoln Pius X's bench 13-4.

Alexis Markowski scored 19 points, pulled down 15 boards and blocked three shots for the champions. Lauren Taubenheim added eight points for Lincoln Pius X while Miriam Miller and Jillian Aschoff contributed seven points each. Taylor Searcey led Lincoln East with 10 points and 10 rebounds while Haley Peterson added nine points for the runners-up.

Class C2 – St. Cecilia (Hastings) 41, Ponca 37
Trailing 21-15 at intermission, the defending champion Bluehawks took over in the third period and outscored Ponca by 10 in the second half to defend last year's title. Bailey Kissinger's free throw tied the game at 23-23 and then Hastings St. Cecilia took the lead for good on Natalie Kissinger's 3-pointer that ended the scoring in the third period.

Tori Thomas' 3-pointer put the champions up 36-27 and Ponca could get no closer than three points the rest of the way. The champions outscored Ponca 4-0 on fast break points and the Bluehawk bench outscored Ponca's bench 13-0.

Katharine Hamburger led the champions with 13 points while Thomas poured in 12 points and pulled down 10 boards. Bailey Kissinger added 11 points, nine rebounds and three steals. Kaci Day led Ponca with 17 points and four steals while Ashlyn Kingsbury ripped the cords for 15 points.

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? Eight.

Falls City Sacred Heart, Hastings St. Cecilia, Lincoln Christian, Lincoln East, Lincoln Pius X, Lincoln Southwest, Millard South and Sidney. Although they didn't all win state titles, it is an impressive feat just the same. Another 19 schools qualified for the girls state basketball tournament in three of the last four seasons and 27 more made it to Lincoln twice since 2017.

First-time champions and double dippers
All of Saturday's state champions had won girls state basketball titles in the past, except Class D1's Pleasanton.

The Bulldogs, who made their 10th appearance at the state basketball tournament last weekend, played for girls state basketball championships in 1992 (Class C2) and 2008 (Class D2), but fell to Genoa 46-36 and Ewing 45-44 respectively. Of this year's girls state basketball champions, Wynot has claimed the most championship hardware after winning their eighth Class D2 state title since 2005.

Class C2 power Hastings St. Cecilia did not earn the volleyball-girls basketball sweep, but came the closest after claiming the Class C2 basketball championship and coming up short against Grand Island Central Catholic in the Class C2 volleyball finals last fall. Archbishop Bergan and Humphrey St. Francis both settled for runner-up trophies in both volleyball and girls basketball this school year.

Defenders of the hardware
Four of last year's state champions qualified for last weekend's state tournament and only Hastings St. Cecilia and Wynot were able to defend their championships. Grand Island Northwest fell to Crete in the Class B semifinals while Archbishop Bergan lost to Pleasanton in the Class D1 state championship bout. Defending state champions Millard North (Class A) and Bishop Neumann (Class C1) failed to qualify for the girls state basketball tournament in 2020.

Weidner comes up big in Lincoln
After failing to get past the first round a year ago, Humphrey St. Francis junior Allison Weidner went off on the rest of the Class D2 field Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Sure, there was disappointment in not winning a state title, but Weidner lit it up as the Flyers took home the runner-up trophy for the second time in three years. The Nebraska commit scored 20, 39 and 24 points in a 60-53 win over Sterling, a 68-38 win over Mullen and a 59-51 loss to Wynot respectively. The 5-foot-9 guard led all scorers at the state tournament with a three-game total of 83 points. Weidner has scored 137 points in seven state tournament games for her career. Lincoln Pius X's Alexis Markowski ripped the cords for 80 state tournament points, netting 29, 32 and 19 points on Thursday, Friday and Saturday respectively. Markowski's 80 points tied the Class A record for points in a state tournament set by Omaha Central's Maurtice Ivy in 1984.

Championship coaches
Class A – Ryan Psota, Lincoln Pius X (26-1)
Class B – John Larsen, Crete (27-1)
Class C1 – Aaron Sterup, North Bend Central (27-2)
Class C2 – Greg Berndt, Hastings St. Cecilia (26-3)
Class D1 – Jordan Arensdorf, Pleasanton (28-0)
Class D2 – Steve Wieseler, Wynot (25-4)

Consolation champions
Consolation titles were awarded in Nebraska's four smallest classifications. Hastings Adams Central, Crofton, Chambers/Wheeler Central and Falls City Sacred Heart all ended the season on winning notes Saturday after coming up short in semifinal games Friday.

Class C1 – Hastings Adams Central (18-11) 44, St. Paul (24-4) 41
Class C2 – Crofton (25-4) 58, Oakland-Craig (26-3) 40
Class D1 – Chambers/Wheeler Central (27-2) 66, Hartington Cedar Catholic (11-15) 54
Class D2 – Falls City Sacred Heart (26-4) 59, Mullen (26-3) 36

Single-game scoring outbursts
39 – Allison Weidner, Humphrey St. Francis, in a 68-38 Class D2 semifinal win over Mullen.
32 – Alexis Markowski, Lincoln Pius X, in a 71-46 Class A semifinal win over Millard South.
30 – Ashley Ostrand, Pender, in a 66-56 Class D1 quarterfinal loss to Pleasanton.
30 – Macy Kamler, Bruning-Davenport/Shickley, in a 60-54 Class D2 quarterfinal loss to Mullen.
29 – Alexis Markowski, Lincoln Pius X, in a 60-44 Class A quarterfinal win over North Platte.
27 – Samantha Moore, Mullen, in a 60-54 Class D2 quarterfinal win over Bruning-Davenport/Shickley.
26 – Gracie Haneborg, North Platte, in a 60-44 Class A quarterfinal loss to Lincoln Pius X.
26 – Grace Cave, Weeping Water, in a 54-49 Class D1 quarterfinal loss to Hartington Cedar Catholic.
25 – Kaci Day, Ponca, in a 56-38 Class C2 quarterfinal win over Grand Island Central Catholic.
25 – Morgan Ramsey, Chambers/Wheeler Central, in a 66-54 Class D1 consolation championship win over Hartington Cedar Catholic.
25 – Taylor Peter, Chambers/Wheeler Central, in a 66-54 Class D1 consolation championship win over Hartington Cedar Catholic.
25 – Erison Vonderschmidt, Falls City Sacred Heart, in a 59-36 Class D2 consolation championship win over Mullen.

Three-game scoring outbursts
83 – Allison Weidner, Humphrey St. Francis
80 – Alexis Markowski, Lincoln Pius X
69 – Taylor Peter, Chambers/Wheeler Central
58 – Olivia Hollenbeck, Lincoln Christian
58 – Kaci Day, Ponca
56 – Morgan Maly, Crete
53 – Bailey Kissinger, Hastings St. Cecilia
50 – Samantha Moore, Mullen
49 – Kaci Pierce, Pleasanton
48 – Brooke Poppert, St. Paul
47 – Kennedy Benne, Oakland-Craig
46 – Makenna Noecker, Hartington Cedar Catholic

They said it
"We have eight or nine girls … who, on any given night, can go score 15 points," Pleasanton head coach Jordan Arensdorf told the Kearney Hub after his 28-0 Bulldogs finished as the only unbeaten squad in Nebraska. "We're deep and well-rounded."

"Our biggest strength is our balance," North Bend head coach Aaron Sterup told the Norfolk Daily News. "Unlike a lot of teams, you can't guard one or two of our girls and be very successful because we've got other people who can score. And our girls don't care who scores. They sometimes pass too much because they're so unselfish."

"(Elizabeth) Allen is really tough when she's in that zone in the middle and she can get in there and finish," Beatrice head coach Jalen Weeks told the Beatrice Daily Sun of Crete's 6-foot-2 senior following his club's state championship loss to the Cardinals. "She's a stud on defense and when you pair that with Morgan (Maly) and some of those shooters they have, it's a deadly combination."

"I think it's just with anything in life, if you work for something and put a lot of time into it, and you believe and trust and care about each other, good things generally happen," Wynot head coach Steve Wieseler told the Yankton Daily Press and Dakotan following his program's seventh state title win in 10 years.

"This feels so surreal," Lincoln Pius X's Alexis Markowski told the Omaha World Herald after tying the Class A scoring record for a state tournament and winning the school's first Class A girls state basketball championship. "Being here with these girls and this experience, I wouldn't have it any other way."

"It's meant the world to me," Hastings St. Cecilia's Makenna Asher told the Grand Island Independent after winning a second Class C2 state girls basketball championship in a row. "The four seniors, we've been together since we started playing basketball. We've been with Coach B since he started coaching our freshman year. A lot of credit goes to him and Coach Jelden. She's been with us for two years, and it just feels amazing to say that we won another state championship."