The Nemaha Central Middle School girls basketball team faced the Hiawatha Red Hawks on Monday, November 21. Before the game, the Nemaha Central eighth grade A-team girls have a winning record of 8-2 within the league. The Nemaha Central seventh grade A-team girls have an undefeated record of 10-0 so far in the season.
Starting the night off, the 8th grade A-team played at home in the main gym. The Thunder girls were seeking revenge having lost by three in overtime in their last matchup against the Red Hawks. The game started off tight, with both teams playing lockdown defense. At the end of the first quarter, the Thunder team stayed close but were trailing, 5-6. Heading into the second quarter, the momentum was slow for both teams. The Lady Thunder scored seven more points but were down going into halftime, 12-14.
Going into the half, the Lady Thunder got a motivational speech from their coach, Darrin Hermesch. Inspired, the Thunder scored a whopping eight points. The girls ended the quarter clinging to the Red Hawks at 20-21. Knowing it was now or never, the Thunder dug deep. More ferocious and energized than ever, NC held the Red Hawks to one point. Finally, scoring four points, the Lady Thunder triumphed over the Red Hawks. The ending score was 24-22 with another Lady Thunder victory.
Ella Huerter commented, “We played really well and I’m glad we could come away with the win!”
Following the eighth grade A-team, the B-team started the night off a little slow. At the end of the quarter, NC was down 2-10. The Thunder girls were determined to pull ahead. Going into the second quarter with determination and grit, the girls managed to score eight points. Sadly though, their defense let them down, letting the Red Hawks score eight points as well. Concluding the second quarter with a score of 10-18, the Thunder was feeling a little down. Not giving up yet, NC scored six points, however, the Red Hawks offense was hot scoring fifteen points in the third quarter. Still, the Thunder was down 16-33. The fourth quarter did not go into play due to a necessary forfeit by the Red Hawks, so the Thunder came away victorious.
The Thunder 7th grade A-team girls started off their game versus Hiawatha with a lead of 6-2 in the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Thunder kept the Red Hawks to only five points. The Thunder continued to dominate the Red Hawks throughout the first half. Going into halftime with a score of 14-7, Nemaha Central was in the lead.
Leaving halftime, the girls continued to put points on the board. In the third quarter, both Hiawatha and Nemaha Central scored six points. The score at the end of the third quarter was 20-13. In the last quarter of the game, Nemaha Central fought hard and was able to persevere, coming out with a victory over the Hiawatha Red Hawks, 26-22.
Wrigly Williams stated, “It was a great game and we came out with a win.”
Tipping off the B-team game, the Thunder 7th grade girls were ready to rumble! Both teams started off slow and the score was 1-2 with the Thunder down at the end of the first quarter. Both teams were trying their hardest to gain the lead. In the second quarter, the Lady Thunder started to take the lead and they maintained the 7-2 lead at halftime.
Nemaha Central came out strong in the third quarter, extending the lead to 15-4, only allowing the Red Hawks to score two points. The Thunder continued to run the Red Hawks through the roof. In the fourth quarter, the NC girls scored eight points, winning the game 23-4.
It was a clean sweep for the Lady Thunder. Both the 7th and 8th teams came out with a win. The 7th grade A-team is now 11-0 and the 8th grade A-team is 9-2. Both teams did a tremendous job against the Hiawatha Red Hawks.
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