Things did not look good for Omaha Skutt Catholic.

A late first half 12-3 run had given Norris a 26-17 lead over Class B, top-ranked (Power 20, No 4) Skutt at halftime of their opening round game in the state tournament. No matter for the Skyhawks.

They responded by allowing just six Titan points in the second half in their 43-32 win that featured 27 points from Molly Ladwig and 13 from Kamryn Kasner. They took the lead for good on Kasner’s basket in the lane with 4:44 left in the game.

“We talked at halftime about doing a little better job on the boards (in the second half),” Skutt coach Kip Colony said. “And to give up just three offensive rebounds and six points in the second half.

“That’s the way we could play defense and I think we just got the nerves out a little bit.”

After being down nine at the break, the Skyhawks scored the first 10 points in the third quarter for a 27-26 lead on a Ladwig bucket in the paint. But Norris fought back with two baskets and a pair of free throws from Izzy Tidball for a 32-29 lead after three.

And, then.

“One thing about our team is we stay confident the whole game,” Ladwig said. “Sure we don’t want to be down nine at halftime, but our defense really showed up and then our shots started falling. It was amazing.”

One step closer, for the Skyhawks, to the state title that has eluded them the past three tournaments.

Bunger-ed

Wilcox-Hildreth coach Cody Whipkey easily described his feeling heading into his teams first round state tournament game with top-seeded and top-ranked Shelton on Thursday.

“Quite honestly, we felt like it was a good draw for us,” Whipkey said after his team turned the tournament on its head with a 49-40 win. “I guess you could say, quiet confidence.”

The Falcons bruised Shelton — the state volleyball champions — in the paint and didn’t trail after the first quarter. Post Madison Bunger scored 17 points on just eight field goal attempts; she was 9-for-13 from the line. Cousin Cara Bunger added 10 points, six rebounds and five assists.

It was the first state tournament win in school history for Wilcox-Hildreth, which lost Shelton in the first round at state in 2023, 52-22. But, the Falcons drew strength from two wins over the Bulldogs last year and when Shelton beat them 42-28 before Christmas, Whipkey said it was a difficult weekend for his team.

“We played really well against Alma the night before, but so many of our girls were sick, literally throwing up at the game,” Whipkey said. “And, some of them took the ACT that morning and we played at 1:00. Still, we were just down five with five minutes left.”

Wilcox-Hildreth used an effective “slow down” 2-2-1 press that kept Shelton out of sync the whole game. It worked to force the Bulldogs into contested shots. Standouts Ellie Morgan and Erin Gegg had just 21 points and were just 8-for-24 from the floor.

But the Falcons were equally efficient on the offensive end of the floor. As Shelton switched from a matchup zone to man defense, they were able to consistently get the ball in the paint. They were 17-for-32 from the field for the game.

“We came in really confident,” said Madison Bunger, who set the school record for points in a season in the win. “We knew that they like to shoot threes and so we really had to lock in on guarding them there.

“We put in a ton of work this summer to get here. We want to stay here and keep playing.”

Friday’s Semifinals

Class A: Millard West faces Lincoln North Star with the Navigators looking to advance to the state finals for the first time in school history. The Cats look for a Class A repeat. On Wednesday, Ani Leu had 18 points and Joyce Johnson 13 points and five assists in LNS’ 47-42 win over Omaha Westview. Millard South held Neleigh and Norah Gessert to 7-23 from the field and 1-14 on 3-point shots, but still lost the top-ranked Cats 53-33. MW got points from Kylee Paben and 11 from Jade Lewis in the win.

The bottom half of the bracket got flipped upside down with the two lower seeds winning, but they didn’t look like upsets. Omaha Westside got 12 points from Kimora Jenkins and 11 from freshman Himayajo Metoyer in their 42-40 win over Millard North. Bellevue West topped Bellevue East for a second time this season, 61-49, with all five starters getting into double figures. Yirah Sears had 15.

Class B: Skutt survives Norris. Bennington warmed up in the second half against Sidney. Now, they square off in a rematch for a spot in the Class B title game. Skutt won the initial February 4th matchup 52-36. Ladwig (27) and Kasner (13) combined for 40 of the Skyhawks 43 points against Norris. Presley Baca had 15 for the Badgers as they pulled away from Sidney, 64-48 after leading 28-23 at the break.

Sometimes you don’t even know how you win, but Gretna East did it. Stuck on 9 for a long time in the first half, the Griffins cut Pius’ halftime lead to 18-13 and then put on a defensive clinic in the second half of a 35-28 win. Parker Christiansen went on a tear for Waverly in the second half as the Vikings broke open an 18-18 halftime game for a 48-31 win. Christiansen finished with 28 points and 11 rebounds.

Class C-1: Lincoln Christian looked the full part of being ready to repeat in their 60-45 win over North Bend Central on Wednesday. Kena Ailes had 15 points and Mattea Kassebaum 12 in the win. They will face a hot-shooting Gothenburg team that sprinted to a 17-0 lead over Bridgeport before winning 69-51. The Swedes got 28 from Zoe Beveridge, who set the Class C-1 tournament record with eight 3-point goals in the win. The Swedes made 14 as a team.

Purple Reign as Minden and Milford will get the semifinal we all have kind of waited for this season. Both teams — mostly — controlled their games on Wednesday. Minden got 15 points from Mattie Kamery in their 42-37 win over Scotus that they led 32-16 in the third quarter before Scotus came back to tie. Milford had four starters in double figures with a double-double from Shayla Rautenberg (12 points, 16 rebounds) and a 13-point, eight rebound, eight assist performance from Ayla Roth. The teams met in a district final last season.

Class C-2: With pretty consistent regularity, Crofton, Elkhorn Valley, Oakland-Craig, Johnson-Brock and GACC rose to the top of the Class C-2 polls this winter. So, it’s fitting that four are still alive in today’s semifinals after GACC knocked out Johnson-Brock in the opening game on Thursday, 53-38. Israeia Kreikemeier had 16 points, nine rebounds and nine steals. The Jays get unbeaten Elkhorn Valley in the semifinals after the Falcons got a combined 34 points from JJ Black and Karlee Broberg in a 52-32 win over Cross County.

Crofton and Oakland-Craig will be epic theatre in game two of the afternoon session. Both dominated their way to opening round victories. Crofton topped Yutan — which ended their undefeated season in last year’s finals — 53-28. Seanna Pinkelman had 12 points on a perfect 5-for-5 from the field. Oakland-Craig’s Sonya Guzinski tied the Class C-2 state tournament record for 3-point goals in a game with seven as she had 28 points in a 68-43 win over Homer.

Class D-1: Pender looked intent on adding a third consecutive state title to their mantle on Wednesday. The Pendragons topped Howells-Dodge 64-45 behind 33 points — and a state tournament all-class record nine 3s — from Mady Dolliver. Pender will face Alma, which reversed an early January game with Superior, 45-36. Tierston Moore had 16 points, six rebounds and seven steals.

Elm Creek and Cedar Catholic were dominant themselves in first round wins. Elm Creek got 27 points from sophomore Kendal Cavenee as they dispatched Diller-Odell 60-44. Cedar Catholic forced 28 turnovers on Southwest in their 54-27 win. Katelyn Arens had 17 points and eight rebounds.

Class D-2: It’s Dorchester who will get Wilcox-Hildreth in the 6:00 game tonight. What the Longhorns did on Thursday against Silver Lake was certainly not pretty, but it was the first-ever state tournament win in school history — 38-37 over the Mustangs. Baylor Behrens scored 20 points for the winners on 6-of-7 from the floor and 8-for-13 from the line. The teams combined to make one 3-point basket on 37 attempts.

Falls City Sacred Heart had three girls in double figures as they cruised to a 57-33 win over Anselmo-Merna. Avery Santo had led the way with 19 points and Jentry Lechtenberg had 16 points and 12 rebounds. Izabel Preister scored 12 points and grabbed 13 rebounds as Archangels Catholic outlasted St. Mary’s 44-38. Teammates Anna Stricklin (12) and Nyla Kessler (11) also added double figures for the Defenders.

The Coaches Kids: An assault was made on the state tournament 3-point record books over the first two days. All of them, it seems, coaches kids.

• Zoe Beveridge (8 for Gothenburg). Set the Class C-1 record. Dad, Tom, is a Swede assistant.

• Sonya Guzinski (7 for Oakland-Craig). Tied the Class C-2 record. Dad, Scott, is the head coach for the Knights.

• Mady Dolliver (9 for Pender). Set the all-class and D-1 record. Dad, Jason, is the head coach for the Knights.

• Kendal Cavenee (6 for Elm Creek). Dad, Tanner, is the head boys coach for Elm Creek which qualified for next week’s state tournament.

• Avery Santo (5 for Falls City Sacred Heart). Dad, Luke, is the Irish head coach.

8th Period Exit: Gretna East coach Wade Coulter isn’t apologizing to basketball fans for how his team won on Thursday night. He knows that his smart, talented athletes are going to have to get it done with defense.

And, the guy who got his coaching start under legendary Scotus Central Catholic coach John Petersen, is happy to give his kids a game plan and see if it works. It’s the scoring thing that hampers them he readily admits.

Thursday’s clinic included a 2-point Pius third quarter, and a 2-for-20 performance from the 3-point line in the 35-28 meatgrinder.

“We know that we have a ton of athletes who aren’t necessarily basketball-first kids,” Coulter said. “That’s definitely a Coach Petersen and Jarrod Ridder (current Scotus head coach) thing. But, we just have really smart kids who can execute the small things in a game plan.

“But that had to be one of the best defensive halves I can remember.”

He also knows a state championship might not happen if the Griffins shoot 3-for-16 from the free throw line again like they did on Thursday night.

“Yeah, the kids asked to get out for 8th period (on Friday) so we can work on that before we leave,” he joked.

Class A Box Scores

Millard West 56, Millard South 33. Lincoln North Star 47, Omaha Westview 42. Omaha Westside 42, Millard North 40. Bellevue West 61, Bellevue East 49.

Class B Box Scores

Omaha Skutt Catholic 43, Norris 32. Bennington 64, Sidney 48. Gretna East 35, Lincoln Pius X 28. Waverly 48, York 31.

Class C-1 Box Scores

Lincoln Christian 60, North Bend Central 45. Gothenburg 69, Bridgeport 51. Minden 42, Scotus Central Catholic 37. Milford 61, Arlington 40.

Class C-2 Box Scores

Guardian Angels Central Catholic 53, Johnson-Brock 38. Elkhorn Valley 52, Cross County 32. Crofton 53, Yutan 28. Oakland-Craig 68, Homer 43.

Class D-1 Box Scores

Pender 64, Howells-Dodge 45. Alma 45, Superior 36. Elm Creek 60, Diller-Odell 44. Cedar Catholic 54, Southwest 27.

Class D-2 Box Scores

 Wilcox-Hildreth 49, Shelton 40. Dorchester 38, Silver Lake 37. Falls City Sacred Heart 57, Anselmo-Merna 33. Archangels Catholic 44, St. Mary’s 38.