FREMONT – North Bend Central and Oakland-Craig were the winners in Thursday nights girls East Husker Conference Basketball Tournament semifinals, in a pair of games played at Midland University and aired on 107.9 The Bull.
In the first game, North bend Central defeated Pender 65-39. The Tigers used a fast start to take an 18-8 lead after the first quarter and a 41-20 lead into halftime.
Tigers coach Aaron Sterup says the quick start was key.
“It was big. Yo know, we need to get off to good starts just for our confidence level and just to kinda get our full court game going a little bit,” Sterup said. “Knocking down some shots really, I think, got us going. For the most part, if we get going, were tough to beat. So I think that was big.”
Sydney Emauel led NBC with 14 points, with Megan Ortmeier adding 10.
Ashley Ostrand reached the 1,000 career points milestone for the Pendragons last night, leading the team with 14 points on the night.
NBC improves to 19-1 while Pender is now 15-8.
In the second game, Oakland-Craig won a close contest over West Point-Beemer 42-38.
O-C got out to a 6-0 lead before the Cadets came back and tied the game at 9-9 to end the first quarter.
The Knights took a 21-18 lead into halftime.
West Point-Beemer outscored Oakland-Craig 15-9 in the third quarter, and the Cadets led 33-30 heading into the fourth.
The Knights turned up the defense in the fourth, only allowing five points, and also made their last six free throws in a row to hang on for the 42-38 victory.
Knights coach Joe Anderson.
“That was a great West Point team we played out there tonight, and they made some big shots. The Swanson girl is an incredible player and theyre very well coached,” Anderson said. “Our girls kinda cranked up the defense there at the end and found a way to make a few extra plays. And thats kinda what theyve been doing the last month. Weve had some close ones, played some really good teams. Thats one thing about this group, they never quit and they just find a way to win.”
Kennedy Benne led O-C with 17 points with Jeannina Blahak adding nine. Sidney Swanson had 16 points for the Cadets, along with 13 from Rachel Groth.
Oakland-Craig remains undefeated at 20-0 on the season, while West Point-Beemer is now 17-5.
It will be O-C vs NBC for the Conference championship at 6:00 Saturday. Prior to that, WP-B and Pender will play each other for third place at 4:15.
Both games will be broadcast on 107.9 The Bull.
