They’ve come this far and now just one game separates teams from the Girls State Basketball Tournament as we approach District Championship tip-off Friday night!
Weather has forced game times to move up in areas including tonight’s C2-6 championship at Sidney where North Platte St. Pat’s and Bridgeport will match-up at 5:00. They did not play in the regular season and it’s been five years since this pair played out in the 2013 district final, a 25-point St Pat’s win.
It’s been a remarkable turnaround for Bridgeport from last year’s 7-14 season up a class in C1 to make it this far. The Irish are 22-3 with two of those losses to a strong Hershey team that is in a district final tonight against Mitchell.
It’s C1-6 that’s a really interesting match-up for the entire State to monitor with Hershey at 20-4, and on a roll of 18 wins in its last 19 games, taking on the undefeated Mitchell Tigers who allowed just nine points in the subdistrict championship and who’ve beaten six Class B teams. Hershey will easily be the biggest C1 test to derail Mitchell’s undefeated 25-0 run, but the Tigers are led by future Chadron State Eagle Jori Peters and junior teammate Keyana Wilfred who is a tremendous forward averaging almost 20 points per game. The stands will be packed in Sidney for this one at 6:00.
Down in Class D tonight the D1-6 Finals are bumped up to 6:00 in Ogallala where Mitchell’s arch-rival, Morrill, faces Hitchcock County. Morrill has only lost twice since mid-December and no matter what happens tonight the Lions could be good for awhile – its top two scorers are freshman combining for 25 points a night.
Hitchcock is 17-6 and has cruised through its last four games against struggling teams.
Finally in the D2-6 championship Hyannis at 19-2 looks like a clear favorite over the 12-win Creek Valley Storm. They actually opened the season in Chappell where Hyannis won by 28, but that was almost three months ago and the Storm is peaking at the right time of year with seven straight victories. This one is at 6:00 tonight at Bridgeport High School.
Winners of those four games tonight will all make the State Tournament and join Sidney from Class B in Lincoln.