Lincoln North Star girls’ basketball could finally finish the job on Saturday.
After back-to-back semifinal losses to Millard West in 2024 and 2025, the Gators chomped the Wildcats on Friday in the second round of the 2026 NSAA Girls Basketball State Championships.
A big reason for their success is senior Ani Leu.
Leu has been building for this moment. The 6-foot do-it-all forward who is headed to Omaha next year to play Division I college basketball has one game left in a Gator jersey.
Watching Leu on the court and in the back hallways of Pinnacle Bank Arena getting ready for a state tournament game, you notice one thing: her calm demeanor. She’s never too high or too low, just a steady rock that has been sitting in place through all kinds of weather.
“She’s never thinking about herself,” North Star coach Tommy Johnson said. “If she was, she’d be happy when she’s scoring. When she celebrates, she celebrates more when someone else is doing something. She doesn’t have a selfish bone in her body. She’s always thinking about someone else or thinking about the team. It’s always bigger than Ani.”
The North Star motto this season has been “one.” That’s what Leu has left, one game for the one state championship that has eluded her and the team.
“It feels great,” Leu said. “I’m just going to soak this all in because this is an experience that I’m never going to be able to see again. I’m just so excited. I’m obviously going to take it one play at a time.”
Leu’s impact isn’t just seen how many points she scores in a game, although she is the team’s leading scorer and poured in a game-high 17 points in the Navigators’ semifinal win over the Wildcats on Friday. It’s much bigger than that. She’s been a mentor to the two freshmen on the team, Korbyn Pierce and La’Dauvyaii Daugherty. Those two underclassmen are a constant by Leu’s side, picking her brain and learning how to be not just a great player but a great person.
“Those two have made this season one that I’ll remember forever,” Leu said. “This has been so much fun. I know even though I’m a senior, those freshmen can do anything that I can do and I have to respect them and they’ll respect me. I’ve just had so much fun with them. I’m so excited to see them every day. I love knowing what’s going on in their lives.”
She hopes her legacy is a lasting one for the school and the program.
“I hope I can leave an impact that you can do more than what you think you can do with hard work and putting your trust into your teammates,” Leu said. “I think that’s big. I just want people to have fun. Basketball is more than just a game; people get too caught up in that.”
To cement that legacy, Leu and her teammates need one more win.
To get it, the Gators will have to go through the only team that’s beaten them this season, the 26-4 Omaha North Vikings.
The Leu legacy would be cemented in stone should she and her teammates bring home the first girls’ basketball title in school history.
“It would mean a lot because obviously I’ve been here (state tournament) four years, and personally, I’ve been through a lot through these four years and I feel like I’ve overcome so much and all these girls have overcome so much. It would just feel great.”
Johnson certainly wants to win the game, but already knows the impact this season has had on his team.
“No one can take away or erase what these girls have done for this North Star program,” Johnson said. “Never winning program to four years straight, three years back in the semis.”
The Class A state championship set for 1 p.m. at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
