FREMONT – Six area girls high school basketball teams earned a trip to next weeks state tournament by winning thei respective District championship games on Friday.
Two district final games were aired on 107.9 The Bull, as Fremont High School hosted a doubleheader.
The C2-4 Final saw Clarkson/Leigh escape with a 45-44 win over Guardian Angels Central Catholic.
GACC jumped out to an early 9-0 lead before the Patriots cut the score to 12-10 at the end of the first, still in favor of the Bluejays. GACC also took a 22-17 lead into halftime.
Clarkson/Leigh held GACC to just six points in the third quarter, but the Bluejays still led 28-25 after three quarters.
The fourth quarter was tightly contested, with both teams exchanging leads briefly. But the Patriots outscored the Bluejays 20-16 in the period, helping them to the 45-44 win.
Kayden Schumacher came off the bench to lead Clarkson/Leigh with 12 points. Brenna Rief scored 15 points to lead GACC with Sophia Hass adding 12.
Clarkson/Leigh improves to 20-5 by winning the C2-4 District title, and advances to the Class C2 state basketball tournament next week.
GACC ends its season at 22-4.
In the second game, West Point-Beemer overcame an early deficit to beat Milford 47-35 for the C1-7 District title.
Milford was leading 9-5 when WP-Bs Reece Snodgrass hit a three pointer at the buzzer, making the score 9-8 Milford after one.
That was the momentum change that the Cadets were looking for, as they outscored Milford 13-4 in the second quarter, taking a 21-13 lead into halftime.
WP-B opened the third quarter on a 7-0 scoring run, before Milford went on an 8-2 run of their own. The Eagles were able to pull within single digits a few times, but West Point-Beemer led 33-23 after the third quarter.
The Cadets made free throws down the stretch and were able to keep Milford at arms length, securing the 47-35 win, and the district championship.
Sidney Swanson had 17 points for the Cadets, with Snodgrass adding 16.
West Point-Beemer is now 23-5 on the season and qualifies for the C1 state tournament.
Also qualifying for the girls state basketball tournament in their respective classes were Bancroft-Rosalie/Lyons-Decatur, Pender, North Bend Central and Oakland-Craig. Their game results are below.
C1-3 District Final at Wisner-Pilger
North Bend Central 55, Norfolk Catholic 47, OT
C2-1 District Final at Columbus
Oakland-Craig 55, Wood River 39
C2-8 District Final at York
BRLD 43, South Loup 32
D1-7 District Final at GI Northwest
Pender 50, Cambridge 43
