It’s Showcase week for Nebraska girls basketball. Broken Bow girls coach Kelly Cooksley’s annual event that partners with the Kearney Chamber of Commerce has turned in to just what it is billed as — a real highlight to the girls hoops season in Nebraska.

This year’s eight-game slate has five teams in our Power 20 below and five more who are in the respective class rankings.

“We are excited for another awesome day in Kearney,” Cooksley said. “Our event continues to grow, and we feel like we get more great games each year with teams from across the state and beyond.

“We appreciate the work of Kearney High School and the Kearney Chamber of Commerce in helping make this a top-notch event for players, coaches and fans.”

The top game of the day should be Colorado’s Riverdale Ridge (Thornton) squaring off against Power 20, No. 1 Millard West in the 1:50 PM game. The Ravens, Class 4A state champions last year, feature one of the top juniors in the nation in 5-star Bri Crittendon, averaging 25 points per contest. The 6-3 wing is averaging over 25 points per contest this season. She has multiple Division I offers including Tennessee, NC State, Michigan, UCLA and others.

The day heats up — to us — in the final three games when Class C-1, No. 1 Lincoln Christian faces Class B, No. 3 Gretna East at 5:10. At 6:50, No. 16 Pender (D-1, No. 1) faces Malcolm and the night cap should be a doozy with Class C-1, No. 3 Minden (9-0) and Class C-2, No. 2 Oakland-Craig (10-1). We won’t be leaving. Neither should you.

The day kicks off with Class D-1, No. 3 Elm Creek (9-1) facing 2023 Class D-1 state champion Centura (3-7) at 8:50. Full schedule is below.

Nebraska Girls Hoops Power 20

1 - Millard West (10-1): Fresh off their Metro title, the Cats beat Buena Vista on Tuesday, have Omaha Central (5-5) on Friday and then travel to Kearney on Saturday to face Colorado’s Riverdale Ridge (4-3), which won Class 4A a season ago. The Ravens feature 2024 Miss Colorado Basketball Bri Crittendon. Last ranking: 3.

2 - Lincoln Southwest (8-0): Shhh. Coach Tim Barada doesn’t want to you to know the Silverhawks are good. Wins over Kearney, Lincoln North Star and Columbus (looking better). They might not have an all-stater, but they might have the best group. Refreshing. A big week looms with Omaha Westside and Bellevue East. Last ranking: 4.

3 – Bellevue East (7-2): We know that last week we had Millard North ahead of the Chieftains. We are flipping that this week, because the win over Millard West is still there. We reserve the right to change our mind again. Last ranking: 6.

4 - Millard North (8-2): A trip to the Metro finals should be well worth this spot. And the Mustangs might be one of the most prolific offenses the state based on Tuesday’s 82-64 win over No. 15 Papillion-LaVista. Last ranking: 5.

5 - Lincoln Pius X (10-1): Impressive in defeating previous No. 1 Omaha Skutt 48-44 on Saturday with a big fourth quarter. Skutt and Pius are near mirrors of each other and have split two meetings. The last one is more than likely to come on March 8th. Last ranking: 7.

6 - Omaha Skutt Catholic (11-1): There biggest challenges remaining will be with Bennington and Norris in February. Then, the state tournament we assume. That can’t be too much of a stretch can it? Last ranking: 1.

7 - Omaha Westview (9-1): Who knows if a soul at Westview saw the Wolverines unranked last week. Well, when you beat North Star and Millard South to move to 9-1 on the season you have our attention. Big jump! Last week: NR. 

8 - Lincoln Christian (9-0): Lost their game with Scotus (8-0) due to weather so have not played since the last ranking. Big Showcase matchup with Gretna East on Saturday to see if we are right. Last ranking: 9.

9 – Kearney (7-1): Beat North Platte. But the big tests are coming the last two weeks of January. Can they get to the finals of the HAC Tournament? Will likely need that to stay in this position. Last ranking: 10.

10 – Millard South (6-4): Drop a couple of spots for the loss to Westview, but still plenty of good work on their resume. Pius on Saturday is another big opportunity for the young Patriots. Last ranking: 8.

11 - Gretna East (9-2): Big weekend for “Weekday Wade” and his Griffins. A battle with a gritty, improving Norris team on Friday is followed by a trip to Kearney for the game with Lincoln Christian on Saturday. Last ranking: 11.

12 – Omaha Marian (6-3): A Power 20 game with Omaha Westside tonight. Last ranking: 12.

13 – Bennington (9-1): Beat Class B, No. 7 Blair 51-34 on Tuesday night and (we love this) playing host to Gering and Scottsbluff this weekend. High school sports should be about the memories of bus rides. Those two schools will also play Crete. We assume the Badgers and Crete return the favor next year. Last ranking: 13.

14 - Omaha Westside (5-4): How about the upcoming stretch for the Warriors? Marian on Thursday. Southwest on Saturday. Followed by both Papio’s and Millard North and Millard South. A 3-3 record in those six games would likely keep them here. Last ranking: 14.

15 - Papillion-LaVista (6-5): We will keep the Monarchs here with the pending rematch with Papio South looming on Friday and North Star on Tuesday before our next rankings come out. Last ranking: 15.

16 - Pender (12-0): If you get a chance to come see the Pendragons in Kearney on Saturday night, you should. Because Malcolm is pretty good, too. Last ranking: 16.

17 - Bellevue West (5-5): Added a 63-55 win over Omaha North on Tuesday night. It was talked about and we are glad that everyone handled it like winners. Last ranking: 17.

18 – Milford (7-1): Beat North Bend 66-54. But, from here on out the Eagles will need to roll past the rest of their schedule. That’s how you stay here. Last ranking: 18.

19 - Minden (9-0): Big week for the Whippets started with a 53-32 win over Beatrice on Tuesday night. Long bus ride to Valentine on Friday is followed by the nightcap at the Showcase on Saturday against Class C-2, No. 2 Oakland-Craig. Last ranking: 19.

20 - Crofton (12-0): How good are the Warriors playing? Top-ranked in Class C-2, four girls are in double figures, and they average 66.3 points per game. They have allowed 40 just four times. Last ranking: 20.

Special Mention (listed alphabetically by class): Columbus (7-3), Lincoln North Star (4-3), Lincoln Southeast (4-4), Papillion-LaVista South (4-4), Norris (6-3), Waverly (7-1), Scotus Central Catholic (8-0), Guardian Angels CC (7-2), Elkhorn Valley (10-0), Oakland-Craig (10-1).

TEAM OF THE WEEK: OMAHA WESTVIEW. Well, holy smokes the Wolverines went on an impressive journey last week. After losing a tough, low-scoring 32-29 game in the round of 16 to Bellevue West in the Metro tournament, how do the Wolverines bounce back?

An overtime win over Lincoln North Star on Saturday at the buzzer. Followed up by a big fourth quarter in a win over Millard South on Tuesday. The top of the Metro is ruthless, and Westview had entered that pack. Coach Jason Simons has four players averaging between 8 and 10 points per contest.

COACHES POLL: You can catch the coaches poll each Monday (boys) and Tuesday (girls) over on nebpreps.com as well.

The Season

Episode Two of The Season with the Minden girls’ team and the Grand Island Central Catholic boys dropped on Monday night. Catch it right here and follow us on social media (below) to get the latest episodes.