Girls state tourney results

LINCOLN - The drive from Omaha wasn't the only white-knuckle experience that took longer than expected for the Westside girls basketball team Thursday.

The Class A No. 2 Warriors survived Dana Durre's 33-point blizzard by scoring 17 points in overtime to take a 74-66 win over upset-minded Lincoln East in the first round of Class A state tournament at the Devaney Sports Center.

The 140 points scored was a Class A single-game record. East's 66 points was a Class A record for the losing team.

The senior trio of Shelly Martin, Kellie Nelson and Kaela Stratman made Westside's two-hour drive to Lincoln on treacherous snow-packed and icy roads worth the adventure. Nelson, a 6-foot-2 Creighton recruit, had 19 points and 12 rebounds inside, while the 5-6 guard duo of Martin and Stratman combined for 36 points.

Martin finished with with 19 while Stratman ended up with 17, including 11 in the fourth quarter and overtime when she nailed three three-pointers.

Lincoln Southeast 49, Bellevue East 41

LINCOLN - KK Houser scored 21 as Lincoln Southeast rallied in the second half to eliminate the defending state champs 49-41. Katie Birkel added 13 for the Knights.

Bellevue West 62,

Millard West 47

LINCOLN - All-stater Kelsey Woodard scored 14 of her game-high 18 points in the first 11:07 of the game, powering the Thunderbirds (24-3) to a 27-10 lead they never relinquished. Woodard, a 5-10 Creighton recruit, knocked down three three-point baskets during the spree, including back-to-back trifectas that pushed the margin to 17 points.

Millard West (17-7) got no closer than 10 points after that

The only other Thunderbird in double-figures was Ashley Lynch with 10. together really well. Millard West was paced by 6-foot junior Heather Pohl and 6-foot freshman Alison Janecek with 11 points each.

Lincoln Northeast 54, Grand Island 40

LINCOLN - Give the Class A first round state tournament victory to the Lincoln Northeast girls basketball team. Give the assist to the Rocket fans.

Coach Rich Olson praised the Northeast faithful who braved Thursday morning's awful winter conditions to watch the top-ranked Rockets' 54-40 win against Grand Island at the Devaney Sports Center. With its 21st straight win, Northeast (22-1) advances to a 9:30 a.m semifinal today against No. 3 Bellevue West.

Super-State senior guard Dominique Kelley made it worth the slippery drive. The 5-foot-8 Nebraska recruit missed her first four shots, but quickly recovered to go off for 31 points. She was 10 of 20 from the field (including three three-pointers) and 8 of 10 at the free throw line.

Her nine first quarter points got Northeast off to a 15-7 lead, a margin that never got closer than five points the rest of the way. The Rockets led 25-17 at halftime and took a 41-25 margin into the fourth quarter.

Class B

Gretna 43,

Lincoln Pius X 42

LINCOLN - Natalie Fleming found the basket, then found a way to prevent one to help Class B No. 1 and defending state champion Gretna outlast Lincoln Pius X 43-42 Thursday in the final Class B first-round game at the Devaney Sports Center.

Fleming hit a three-pointer from the top of the key with 50 seconds left to put the Dragons ahead. Then, the senior managed to keep the Thunderbolts from getting a clean final shot from Michelle Determan as time ran out.

Pius X planned to have Determan get an open shot on an inbounds pass with 2.8 seconds left. If the basket goes in, Pius X would have won and the Gretna winning streak would have stopped at 42.

Fleming was determined to make sure that didn't happen as she fought through the double screen to get to Determan.

Fleming was 4-for-9 from three-point range to share team scoring honors with all-stater Cara Gustafson, who also scored 12.

Alliance 58,

Ogallala 42

LINCOLN -Freshman Jordan Hooper had a sparkling debut in the state tournament, scoring 20 points and adding 18 rebounds for Class B No. 4 Alliance in its third win this season over eighth-ranked Ogallala.

The Bulldogs (21-1) led 27-20 at halftime, then opened the second half with an 8-0 run in which Jessica Mills converted three times on pick-and-roll plays with Martie Burke.

Alliance went 17 for 21 from the free-throw line.

Crete 64,

Omaha Roncalli 46

LINCOLN - Once Class B No. 2 Crete found its grove, there was nothing Omaha Roncalli could do.

The Cardinals overcame a sluggish first half to post a 64-46 victory in a first round game at Pershing Center.

Crete dug out of a first-half drift and rolled to 40 points in the second half. Crete freshman Katelyn Edwards, who scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and Lindsay Waller, who scored 22 points, combined for 29 points in the second half. The Cardinal defense limited the Crimson Pride to just 24 points in the final two quarters.

Holdrege 62,

Aurora 55

LINCOLN - Holdrege added new power to its defense and revved up its offense to reach the Friday 1:30 p.m. semifinal against Crete.

The Class B No. 9 Dusters trailed by as many as six points in the second half before Holdrege forced No. 7 Aurora into nine turnovers in the fourth quarter and raced away with the victory.

Duster players also took care of the ball, committing just five turnovers in the second half after a dismal 16 turnovers in the first half.

On offense, Holdrege rallied behind the outside shooting of Tessa Kruetzer, who scored 16, and Ashley Daily, who scored 14.

Class C-1

Norfolk Catholic 66, Hastings St. Cecilia 43

LINCOLN-Norfolk Catholic wasted little time taking control of their game, jumping to an 18-8 lead in the first quarter.

Nicole Brungardt, who passed the 1,000 career-point milestone during the game and now has 1,004 points, put the Knights on top for good with a three-point play early in the game. Brungardt finished the game with 20 points, six rebounds and five steals.

Uhing finished the game with 15 points and 11 rebounds to help the Knights double Hastings St. Cecilia, 42-21 in rebounding. Even more significant was the fact the Hawkettes had just two offensive rebounds in the game.

Jessica Zaruba added 12 points for Norfolk Catholic (23-1). Danielle Nikkila led the Bluehawks (17-7) with 16 points and Morgan Dubas had 10.

Fairbury 56,

North Bend 42

LINCOLN - When Fairbury clamped down its defense midway through the first quarter, the Jeffs took control.