Girls State Basketball 2017
Opening tipoffs across Lincoln begin at 8:00 MT Thursday morning at the Girls State Basketball Tournament. The Nebraska Panhandle has three teams in contention for a State Championship.
NE Panhandle’s Opening Round Capsules
Class C1 – #2 Mitchell Tigers (23-1) vs. #7 Ord Chanticleers (21-4) – 9:45 am MT
The Mitchell Tigers are the #2 seed in Class C1 and will face #7 Ord at 9:45 MT inside the Devaney Center. Making its 5th State appearance in school history and in the field for a second straight year, Mitchell is 23-1 and hasn’t lost since the third game of the year – a 45-37 setback to Sterling, Colorado. The Tigers are led in scoring by sophomore forward Keyana Wilfred’s 15.6 ppg and guard Jori Peters at 13.8 ppg. The Tigers are trying to advance to the semifinals for the first time in school history after losing to last year’s State runner-up Lincoln Christian 67-27 in the 1st round. Lincoln Christian is the #1 seed in the 2017 field and on the opposite side of the bracket, meaning Mitchell could see them again in the State finals.
The Mitchell-Ord winner moves into Friday’s semifinals against the winner of #3 Kearney Catholic and #6 Malcolm.
Class B – #5 Sidney Lady Raiders (20-5) vs #4 Norris Titans (17-6) – 7:45 pm MT
The Sidney Lady Raiders are making their 12th State Tournament trip and first since 2014 as champions of the B6 district. Sidney comes in on a three game winning streak and winners of five of its last six games, with the lone defeat coming to Class C1 State participant Mitchell. Sidney is led in scoring by senior guard Kelsey Knight’s 10.7 ppg, and in rebounding by 5’10” senior Annalise Lecher at 8.9 per contest.
Norris is making its 11th State Tournament and first since 2015 when the Titans finished runner-up. Forward MaKenna Sullivan leads the Titan offense with 13.3 ppg, and is the team’s leading rebounder with 229 boards – averaging a double-double.
Sidney and Norris will play at the Devaney Center and the winner will face the winner of #1 Elkhorn South and #8 Seward in Friday’s semifinals.
Class D2 – #8 Potter-Dix Coyotes (20-3) vs. #1 Falls City Sacred Heart Irish (24-1)
For the first time since a runner-up finish in 1990 the Potter-Dix Lady Coyotes are on the court at Girls State Basketball. The Coyotes are led by the forward-guard combo of Alexus Rozelle and Audrey Juelfs who combine to score 29.4 ppg. A second guard-forward pair of Dawson Sharman and Trinity Langley each score between 9-10 points per game creating a balanced scoring attack for Jeff Einspahr’s team. Potter-Dix opened the season 0-2 with losses to D1 State participant and undefeated Dundy County-Stratton and an 18-win Morrill squad, but has won every game since with the exception of a 50-33 defeat to undefeated Pine Bluffs, WY.
The Irish are making their 22nd State Tournament appearance and boast a quality scoring combo of its own in guard Jade Hill and forward Haylee Heits who combine to score 25 points a night. After a 19-game winning streak to begin the year, FCSH dropped its only game to Diller-Odell, a 20-4 club that is the #8 seed in the C2 bracket.
The PD-FCSH winner will play the winner of #4 Sandhills/Thedford and #5 Exeter-Milligan in the semifinals Friday.