KEARNEY – Tatum Rusher stole it, threw the crosscourt pass to Kiara Dutenhoffer, and her bucket with under a minute to play in the third quarter finally gave Kearney the lead.
The Bearcats didn’t look back, exploding for 24 points in the final quarter of action to defeat the Papillion-La Vista Monarchs 55-43 on Saturday night.
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The scoring started slow for both teams, with Maddy Province breaking the seal roughly 90 seconds into the contest. Papio would take advantage of turnovers and missed Bearcat shots to build a 12-8 lead through the first quarter. Neither team could build solid momentum into the locker room, with the Monarchs going into Intermission leading 21-19 over Kearney.
KHS GBB
Momentum was starting to build with the Bearcats later in the third quarter, with a three-pointer from Rusher, including the steal and assist to Dutenhoffer to give the Bearcats the lead 31-30 through three quarters of play.
Both teams exploded in the fourth quarter, with all eight of Kelsey Hatcher’s points being scored in the final frame. Dutenhoffer would tack on six points in the quarter to push her into double-double territory.
KHS GBB
Kearney, who enters the Christmas Break with a 4-2 record, was led by the 14pt 12reb performance from the junior off the bench. Maddy Province and Tatum Rusher had 13 points. Kelsey Hatcher scored all eight of her points in the fourth quarter, while Avery Franzen, Haidyn Skeen, Addie Helmbrecht, and Harley Straka all had two points. Addie Snyder added a free throw.
Papillion La Vista was led by Mia Slizinski was 14 points before fouling out in the fourth quarter. The Monacrchs fell to 2-4 on the season.
The next action for Kearney takes place after the Christmas holiday, with the Heartland Athletic Conference tournament taking place Dec. 28-31.
Story courtesy of Alex Hammeke, KGFW Sports.
