KEARNEY – The Nebraska Girls Basketball Showcase nightcap contest between Class A and Class B had shades of a heavyweight fistfight, as Kearney and York battled out for a gritty 39-32 showdown then ended in the Bearcats’ favor. Click here to listen to the broadcast replay.
The Bearcats entered Saturday’s Showcase game at 7-3 overall having won on Friday night at Lincoln Southeast 46-32. York entered as one of Class B’s favorites at 9-1 and had been off since Tuesday after blowing past Schuyler 66-10.
After the opening tip, the game teetered on what could have been an offensive shootout. York’s Masa Scheierman was a force underneath for the Dukes throughout the contest, and began the night off with strong rebounding and a three-point play to begin the scoring for York. Kennidy Garner had the hot hand early for Kearney adding four points, while her older sister Kierstynn fell into an early rhythm knocking down a triple. York’s Kiersten – Portwine, that is – had a three pointer of her own while Mattie Pohl wasn’t left out of the downtown fun knocking down her own outside shot. Kearney’s Haidyn Skeen added a lay-in and Kaleigh Hatcher, after not being available for the trip to Lincoln Southeast, added two points from the charity stripe. The back-and-forth scoring had both teams locked in at 11 at the final buzzer to end the first quarter.
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Kearney’s defense began to overload and enforce heading into the second quarter. With a relentless rush of a speedy attack, Head Coach Kyle Fletcher’s squad overwhelmed York 11-4 in the second quarter. The Bearcats’ Kierstynn Garner knocked down two triples as well in the second, adding another two points from the free-throw line. The only points given up by Kearney in the second were two at the charity stripe by York’s Destiny Shepard and a shot by Anna Briggs. Kearney led into halftime 22-15.
The Bearcats second half attack was at a crawl offensively starting the third quarter, but Tatum Rusher clawed out her first 6 points of the contest and the only scores for Kearney in the preceding eight minutes. York won the scoring in the third, but only by a slim margin at 8-6. The Dukes were in foul trouble early and often, as many starters racked up multiple fouls by the end of the quarter. Scheierman would not be denied her offensive output however, finding room for 5 points in the third. Kearney’s defense continued to hold off York as the Bearcats led 28-23 entering the fourth.
Kearney’s final quarter was emphasized by stout defensive stands and creative offensive looks. The fourth saw the Bearcats give up 9 in total to York, but Kearney never allowed the Dukes within one possession as Kearney’s Skeen drilled a three pointer with a few minutes remaining to ice the contest for the Bearcats.
Kearney is now 8-3 on the year and likely improves their standing at #10 in Class A Powerpoints with the victory. The Bearcats had contributions from Kierstynn Garner with 13 points, Rusher had 10, Skeen finished with 7, Hatcher and Kennidy Garner had 4, and Harley Straka finished with 1.
The Bearcats recover from the late weekend matchup to take on Lincoln Northeast next Friday night at home.
Listen to assistant coach JD Carson’s comments from the postgame report:
