The Nemaha Central Middle School seventh grade girls basketball team traveled to Atchison on Thursday, December 7, 2024, for the Big East League Tournament. Going into this tournament NC was seeded 6th with a record of 6-5. The first game the girls were scheduled to play was against Perry-Lecompton. Seeing that Perry was seeded 10th the Thunder girls were confident going into this game.
In the first quarter of the game against Perry, both teams were playing good defense and at the end of the quarter the score was tied up with 3 apiece. The second quarter went better for NC, with the girls scoring some more baskets and taking the lead 9-5.
In the third quarter, the NC girls worked hard and scored 9 more points, making the score 18-8. Finally, in the fourth quarter, NC scored 6 more points while Perry scored 5 more points, securing the win, 24-13.
For their second game of the day, the girls faced off against Jeff West, who was seeded number 3. The first quarter was rough for the Thunder and they were trailing 11-2 by the end. In the second quarter, the girls were hoping to get some more points and take the lead but were unsuccessful with the Tigers leading at halftime 17-7.
The third quarter did not go as planned, as NC was kept scoreless and the Tigers scored three more points. Finally, in the last quarter, the girls tried to come back and take the lead, but the Tigers played well and won 30-17.
“We finished the game well and we played our hardest,” said Callie Loveall.
The second and final day of the Big East League Tournament was held on Thursday, December 12. The NC team was matched up with Holton, who was seeded seventh in the tournament. The best place the girls could come away with now was fifth place.
The first quarter began and NC had some good defense which put them in the lead 6-4. The second quarter went well for the girls as they increased their lead before halftime with a score of 14-8.
The third quarter went like the others and they kept their lead, 22-13. The final quarter started and the girls kept working hard. The hard work paid off as they ended the game with a win, 34-18. The Thunder girls were pumped that they won, meaning they could place fifth in the tournament.
The final game of the season was against St. Marys. The first quarter began and the scoring went back and forth until the quarter ended with an 8-8 tie. The second quarter didn’t go as planned, but the girls stayed close with a score of 10-13 as the quarter concluded.
After halftime, the girls came back out hoping to take the lead. The NC girls tried their best but still trailed 14-19. The final quarter rolled around and the NC girls needed to score. They did outscore the Bears in the fourth quarter, but it was not enough to get the win as the game ended 19-23.
Lillian Deters said, “We played our hardest and got sixth which was good.”
The seventh grade girls finished the season with a sixth-place finish in the tournament and an overall record of 8-7. Though they had their wins and losses, they were still proud of the outcome.
Article By: Alyvia Sudbeck & Bryce Weber
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