Three area girls basketball teams will attempt to qualify for the NSAA girls state basketball championships in Lincoln next week as they play in the district final round tonight.
Broken Bow will host Battle Creek for the C1-6 district title. The Lady Indians lost 37-35 to Holdrege last week in the C1-10 sub district tournament but thanks to their outstanding regular season Broken Bow qualified for the district finals as a wildcard. This will be Broken Bow’s first game in ten days. Head coach Kelly Cooksley visited with KCNI/KBBN sports on Wednesday and talked about working past the loss in the sub district tournament and their preparation for tonight’s district final.
“We actually talked about that yesterday. We’re going to have ten days in between games. We need to make sure we are being sharp in practice. We’ve really focused on ourselves more than anything. We’ve cleaned up a few things that we think teams are maybe taking advantage of based on some film and some stats and stuff. We’ve cleaned up a few things that we think if we clean those things up it’s just going to make us that more difficult to beat.”
Broken Bow will Battle Creek for the district title. Battle Creek is 17-5 and advanced to the district championship by claiming the C1-8 sub district title with wins over Boone Central and Pierce. Tonight’s game will be broadcast on KCNI 1280 AM / 96.3 FM and kcni1280.com. Tip off is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Sandhills/Thedford will host High Plains Community for the D2-5 district championship tonight. The game will be played at Sandhills High School in Dunning. Sandhills/Thedford has put together an outstanding season and enters tonight’s game at 20-4 overall. The Lady Knights won the D2-8 sub district tournament with wins over Ansley/Litchfield and Anselmo-Merna. Their opponent, High Plains Community, is 16-8 this season and advanced to the district finals by winning the D2-3 sub district tournament with wins over St. Edward and Nebraska Lutheran. Tonight’s game will be broadcast on KBBN 95.3 FM and kbbn.com. A live video stream of tonight’s game, accompanied by the radio call, will be available through sandhillsexpress.com on the Sandhills Express Facebook page and the Sandhills Express You Tube Channel. Tip off is scheduled for 6 p.m.
SEM will look to make a return trip to the state tournament as they travel to O’Neill to battle St. Mary’s for the D1-5 district championship. The Lady Mustangs fell to Amherst in the D1-10 sub district final but still qualified for districts as a wildcard. Their opponent, St. Mary’s, is 21-2 this season and advanced to the district finals by claiming the D1-8 sub district tournament title with wins over Boyd County and North Central. Tonight’s game is scheduled to tip off at 6 p.m.
