The 2025 NSAA Girls Basketball State Championship tipped off on Wednesday at Pinnacle Bank Arena and the Devaney Center with the Class D1, Class C1 and Class A quarterfinals.
CLASS D1
No. 1 Pender 64, No. 8 Howells-Dodge 45
The top seed in Class D1 won its rubber match with Howells-Dodge in emphatic fashion to start the action at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
The Pendragons avenged a regular-season loss to the Jaguars in sub-district play before matching up with them again at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
Junior Madalyn Dolliver broke the state tournament single-game record for made 3-pointers, finishing with 33 points while shooting 9-for-16 from deep. Dolliver also holds the overall single-game girls record with 13 3-pointers set in a game last season.
Hadley Walsh added 11 points, six rebounds and five assists while senior Maya Dolliver chipped in six points, six rebounds, six assists and three steals. Brylea Mosser scored 7 points in the first period to help Pender get off to a good start and added eight rebounds.
Howells-Dodge knocked down a couple of 3-pointers early then scored inside to take an 8-7 lead over the reigning D1 champions five minutes into the game. It was all Pendragons the rest of the first half, however, as the Jaguars went six minutes before scoring again and Pender closed the half on a 28-4 run to take a 35-12 lead at the break.
The Jaguars found their offense a bit in the second half, trimming the deficit to 15 early in the fourth, but the younger Dolliver’s shot-making was too much as she hit four 3s in the fourth quarter, scoring 12 of Pender’s 15 points to close out the victory.
Kylie Brichacek led Howells-Dodge with 12 points and nine rebounds.
"That team is laser focused on bringing home the gold trophy."
Pender coach @jasondolliver following the Pendragons' 64-45 quarterfinal win over Howells-Dodge.
#nebpreps | @pinnbank pic.twitter.com/MzjWXw3krs— nebpreps (@THEnebpreps) March 5, 2025
No. 5 Alma 45, No. 4 Superior 36
The Cardinals trailed for three and a half quarters, but a 19-2 finish earned Alma its first win at state and a trip to the semifinals.
Junior Tierston Moore led the Cardinals with 16 points, seven steals and six rebounds. Senior Chayse Molzahn was a force on the defensive and as well, finishing with eight blocks, seven rebounds and seven points.
Superior raced out to a 9-0 lead, then used a 10-1 run to extend it to 12 early in the second quarter. However, Alma’s full-court pressure gave the Wildcats fits throughout the game as turnovers continued to mount.
The Cardinals settled in at halftime and slowly chipped away at the deficit, opening the third with an 11-4 run to pull within two. Then disaster struck for the Wildcats.
Superior sophomore Reagan Meyers, a 6-foot-2 post, fell awkwardly as she tried to make a play on defense. She left the game — taking her 11 points, 15 rebounds and two blocks with her — and did not return.
The Wildcats responded well initially, scoring six straight to push the lead back to eight early in the fourth quarter. However, the magic ran out as they missed their last 10 from the field and only scored two more points from the foul line.
Alma used a 15-0 run to surge ahead and cruised to the win. The Cardinals forced 24 turnovers and held the Wildcats to 24.5% from the field.
Alma will face No. 1 Pender in Friday’s semifinals, set for 9 a.m. CT at the Devaney Center.
“They’re here to make some history.”
Alma coach Amanda Davis talks on the Cardinals’ 45-36 quarterfinal win over Superior. #nebpreps | @pinnbank pic.twitter.com/lq63BWZgQH
— nebpreps (@THEnebpreps) March 5, 2025
Results from the Devaney Center:
>> No. 2 Elm Creek 60, No. 7 Diller-Odell 44: The Buffaloes built a 15-point lead at halftime and maintained it throughout the second half to move on to the semifinals. Sophomore Kendal Cavenee went off for 27 points on 10-of-15 from the field including 6-of-10 from deep. Diller-Odell senior Myleigh Weers, the top scorer in the tournament field at 23.1 per game heading in, finished with 21 points, but it took her 20 shots and four free throws to get there against Elm Creek’s defense.
>> No. 6 Cedar Catholic 54, No. 3 Southwest 27: The Trojans held Southwest to single-digit points in all four quarters to snap the Roughriders’ 22-game winning streak. Senior Katelyn Arens led the way with 17 points and eight boards while sophomore Aniston Wortmann chipped in 11 points. The Trojans will face No. 2 Elm Creek in Friday’s semifinals, with tipoff set for 7:45 p.m. at the Devaney Center.
Class A
No. 1 Millard West 56, No. 8 Millard South 33
It took the Wildcats three and a half minutes to get on the board, and the Patriots led 10-8 late in the first period. However, it was all Millard West the rest of the way.
The Wildcats ripped off a 13-0 run, holding Millard South scoreless for nearly eight minutes. Kylee Paben knocked down a 3 at the second-quarter buzzer to give Millard West a 26-13 lead at the break and the Wildcats stretched it out throughout the second half.
Millard South scored four buckets in the first quarter but only managed three more in the final three periods, scoring more than half its points from the free-throw line.
Paben, a junior, led the Wildcats with 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting (3-of-5 from 3) while senior Jade Lewis added 11 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Freshman Aubrey Carder led Millard South with a game-high 17 points, shooting 10-of-12 from the free-throw line.
“They’ve embraced that, having the target on our back.”
Millard West coach @Krugs_9 talked about the Wildcats’ 56-33 win over Millard South in the opening round of the state tournament. #nebpreps | @pinnbank pic.twitter.com/OuqvxC3jos
— nebpreps (@THEnebpreps) March 5, 2025
No. 4 Lincoln North Star 47, No. 5 Omaha Westview 42
Lincoln North Star built a big lead early in the third quarter then made some clutch plays late to fend off a Westview comeback and advance to the semifinals.
The slugfest of a game included 44 turnovers, 39 fouls and just 32 field goals.
Junior Ani Leu led everyone with 18 points and knocked down a dagger 3-pointer that gave the Gators a 44-38 led with 53 seconds to play. She shot 3-of-5 from deep and 6-of-9 overall. Joyce Johnson added 13 points, five assists and four steals while making some big plays of her own in the fourth.
The Gators hit their first four shots and jumped out to a 10-0 lead before sophomore Kailyn Bailey provided a spark off the Westview bench, scoring all nine of the team’s first-quarter points.
North Star held Westview to three points in the second quarter to take a 26-12 lead at the break then opened the third with a 5-1 spurt to build a 31-13 advantage. Westview scored five points in the final 35 seconds — including a Cardy King 3 at the buzzer — to trim the deficit to 12 entering the fourth. The Wolverines continued to chip away throughout the final period, pulling within three four times.
However, Leu or Johnson had an answer each time, accounting for the team’s final 10 points as the Gators closed out the victory.
Bailey finished with 17 points and seven rebounds to lead the Wolverines, who were without starting point guard Lucy Fierro because of an injury suffered in the district final. Stella Williams added 13 points, including eight in the fourth quarter to spark the comeback. King chipped in 10 points.
The Navigators will face top-seeded Millard West in Fridays semifinals at Pinnacle Bank Arena, with tipoff set for 1:30 p.m.
“We should be talked about amongst those top-tier programs in the state.”
Lincoln North Star coach Tommy Johnson spoke on the Gators’ 47-42 win over Omaha Westview to advance to the Class A semifinals. #nebpreps | @pinnbank pic.twitter.com/i5x5kgV9dU
— nebpreps (@THEnebpreps) March 5, 2025
No. 7 Omaha Westside 42, No. 2 Millard North 40
Westside held Millard North scoreless for the final four minutes and survived a 3-point attempt at the buzzer to upset the Mustangs and advance to the semis.
Both teams shot under 30% from the field, but freshman Himayajo Metoyer stepped up with a pair of big buckets late to lead her team to victory. With Millard North leading 40-38, Metoyer dribbled all the way up the court, weaving her way through the Mustang press before dropping in a floater to tie the game with two minutes to go.
Then she teamed up with Kimora Jenkins to force a turnover and scored the breakaway layup with 1:15 to go that proved to be the game-winner. She scored seven points in the fourth to finish with 11 points, six rebounds and two steals.
Jenkins, a senior, led Westside with 12 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Emma Vander Plaats put Millard North on her back early, scoring 10 of the team’s 12 first-quarter points, but the Warriors led by two after each of the first two periods.
The second half featured a series of short scoring runs. Millard North scored the first eight points of the third to take the lead. Westside answered with seven straight, then the Mustangs put together another 8-0 run to pull ahead 37-30 early in the fourth.
However, the Warriors chipped away at it the rest of the period until Metoyer put them in front for good. The teams traded stops after that, leading to Millard North’s final possession. Vander Plaats got a clean look just before the buzzer, but it bounced hard off back iron.
Vander Plaats led Millard North with 15 points and five rebounds while Izzie Galligan chipped in 10 points on 2-of-4 from 3 and 4-of-4 from the foul line. Senior Avril Smith recorded 15 rebounds, eight blocks and two steals to anchor the Mustang defense.
“We talked about this, ‘Keep playing. Keep playing for each other.’”
Omaha Westside coach @SclarkSteve talks about the Warriors’ quarterfinal upset win over Millard North. #nebpreps | @pinnbank pic.twitter.com/XzDum6KWuJ
— nebpreps (@THEnebpreps) March 6, 2025
No. 6 Bellevue West 61, No. 3 Bellevue East 49
The battle for Bellevue went back and forth throughout the first half, but the Thunderbirds controlled the action throughout the second half to complete the season sweep of their city rival and advance to the semifinals.
All five starters scored in double figures for Bellevue West, three of which were freshmen.
Freshman Yirah Sears led the way with 15 points, six rebounds and three steals. Junior Vanna Reitsma added 12 points on 6-for-9 shooting. Freshman Stevie Harley stuffed the stat sheet with 11 points, 13 rebounds, five blocks and three steals. Freshman Nyla Tatum scored 11 points as well while sophomore Jaycee Woodard chipped in 10 points and eight boards.
The game included 12 lead changes — but only one in the second half. Bellevue East led 30-29 at halftime thanks to a buzzer-beating 3 from senior Bra’Ni Jackson, but the Thunderbirds used a 7-0 run early in the third to take a lead they would not relinquish.
Bellevue West held Bellevue East to 5-for-20 from the field and forced nine turnovers in the second half to pull away in the fourth quarter.
Jackson scored a game-high 19 points while sophomore T’Niyah Wilson-Smith added 14 points and 10 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough.
Bellevue West will face No. 7 Omaha Westside in Friday’s semifinals with tipoff set for 3:15 p.m. at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
“These guys are fun. They’re unselfish. They don’t care who scores.”
Bellevue West coach @dbacon_23 shares his thoughts after the Thunderbirds’ 61-49 win over Bellevue East in the Class A quarterfinals. #nebpreps | @pinnbank pic.twitter.com/eX9rqPghs9
— nebpreps (@THEnebpreps) March 6, 2025
Class C1
Results from the Devaney Center:
>> No. 1 Lincoln Christian 60, No. 8 North Bend Central 45: The reigning champions built a 13-point lead at halftime with a strong defensive second quarter then cruised through the second half behind 15 points and 10 rebounds from Kenadee Ailes. Lindsey Emanuel put up a game-high 23 points and 11 rebounds for the Tigers.
>> No. 5 Gothenburg 69, No. 4 Bridgeport 51: The Swedes scored the first 20 points of the game then fended off a fourth-quarter comeback to advance to the semifinals. Sophomore Zoe Beveridge put up 28 points, six rebounds and four assists while junior Halsey Thomalla added 20 points and nine rebounds. Beveridge shot 8-for-13 from 3, breaking the Class C1 single-game tournament record. Sophomore Olivia Brown led Bridgeport with 24 points. Gothenburg will take on top-seeded Lincoln Christian in Friday’s semifinals set for 9 a.m. at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
>> No. 2 Minden 42, No. 7 Scotus Central Catholic 37: The Whippets built an 18-point lead early in the third quarter and looked to be cruising to the semifinals, but Scotus had other plans. The Shamrocks ripped off a 20-2 run to tie the game at 32-all less than two minutes into the fourth to make it anyone’s game. However, the Whippets responded with seven straight to regain the lead and held on from there to punch their ticket. Mattie Kamery led Minden with 15 points, seven rebounds and four steals while Lola Doerneman finished with 15 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks for the Shamrocks.
>> No. 3 Milford 61, No. 6 Arlington 40: Milford opened the game with a 9-0 run and maintained separation throughout in the final C1 quarterfinal. Four players scored in double figures for the Eagles including freshman Shayla Rautenberg with 12 points and 14 rebounds and senior Ayla Roth with 13 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Senior Izzy Yeackley led everyone with 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists for Milford, who earned its first win at the state tournament. The Eagles will face No. 2 Minden in Friday’s semifinals with tipoff set for 10:45 a.m. at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
