LINCOLN, NE – Several times during the season, BDS girls’ basketball coach Shana Gerberding has said that nerves are not a factor with her team on the big stage.
That proved true again on Thursday night.
The Eagles (22-4), who trailed for nearly the entire second half, overcame a 30-20 deficit and nixed Mullen, 36-34 in the first round of the Class D2 girls’ state basketball tournament at Lincoln North Star on Thursday night.
A basket by junior forward Regan Alfs with roughly 25 seconds left ended up being the game winner.
Hear the radio call of that shot here:
The winning layup was set up by a missed free throw from sophomore guard Macy Kamler. BDS, who was in the double bonus for about the last 2.5 minutes of the game, was able to get to the charity stripe several times in the closing minutes.
Kamler stepped to the line with just over 30 seconds left, her team down 34-33. She made the first, missed the second. After two missed put-backs, Alfs banked a shot off the square to give her team the lead for good.
The final call can be heard here:
Alfs and Kamler each led their team in victory with 10 points apiece. Senior guard Jadyn Kleinschmidt finished with 8 points – all in the second half.
The game was a defensive struggle right from the get-go. BDS led 7-6 after the first quarter, while Mullen led 17-15 at halftime.
The lead changed hands five times in the first half, but Mullen opened the second half on a 9-0 run to lead 24-15 about three minutes into the third quarter.
BDS got down 10, but never more than that. The Eagles ended the third quarter on a 4-0 spurt to cut the lead to six, 30-24 going into the fourth.
Mullen was led in scoring by sophomore guard Samantha Moore, who tallied a game-high 11 points. She also had four steals and a blocked shot.
Freshman guard Taylor Svoboda finished with seven points – six of those coming from three.
Mullen made four three-pointers as a team, while BDS made only two. Turnovers were a big problem for both teams throughout, but Mullen won that battle, 21-18.
Late foul trouble by Mullen may have been the difference. In the entire game, the Broncos were just 4-of-9 from the free throw line – BDS was 11-of-20. Five of those 11 makes came in the fourth quarter for the Eagles.
While BDS was in the double bonus for more than a couple of minutes, Mullen didn’t even get a one-and-one look until about 20 seconds to go.
BDS now faces No. 7 Wynot (20-6) in the semifinals on Friday night at 8:45 at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.
The BlueDevils scored a dramatic win of their own Thursday. Shaelee Planer knocked in a go-ahead jumper with 1.8 seconds left to lift Wynot past No. 2 Humphrey St. Francis (23-4), 45-44 in the game that preceded BDS-Mullen at North Star.
BDS’ battle against Wynot will be carried live on Ol’ Red 99.5.
You can follow Tommy on Twitter @Tommy_NCN.
