Wauneta Breeze

    By Tina Kitt
    The Wauneta Breeze

     After giving the top-seeded Humphrey St. Francis Flyers a run for their money in the opening half of their state-tourney semifinal match-up, the Wauneta-Palisade girls basketball saw the game slip away as they were outscored 21-7 in the third quarter.
     The Broncs fell to the Flyers in their state-tourney contest, 68-45, to close their season at 18-5, and rated as the No. 4 team in the state in D-1, according to the Omaha World-Herald standings.
     Coach Roger Lauhead said his was proud of his team's effort.
     "They were just quicker than we are and they outplayed us," said Lauhead. "It would've been nice to have had a week to focus on Humphrey St. Francis. I think we could've played with them."
     The Broncs advanced to the semis after defeating Overton, 54-35, in their tourney opener in Lincoln last Thursday.
     HSF went on to defeat Freeman in Saturday's championship game to claim the Class D-1 title.

    Broncs fly past Eagles
     Though they fell short of their goal to bring home a state-tourney medal, the Broncs made good on their goal to defeat Overton in their tourney opener.
     The Broncs posted a 18-3 run in the last six minutes, putting away the game by draining 9 of 10 free throws and 5 of 7 field goals.
     The Eagles, who close their season at 14-9, drew to within three points of the Broncs at 33-30 at the start of the fourth quarter, but the Broncs pulled away, sparked by back-to-back treys by Stephanie Padilla and Brittany O'Neil. Janae Harris, Kiane Alberts and Jennifer Lytle also knocked down shots in the final minutes for the win.
     Harris posted a game-high 17 points to lead a trio of Broncs in double digits. Padilla had 13 points on a pair of treys and seven foul shots. She also led in assists and steals with four each. Alberts had 10 points. Betsy Anderjaska crashed the glass for the Broncs, pulling down 13 rebounds as the Broncs outboarded the Eagles 33-18.

    Flyers halt Bronco drive
     In their semifinal match at Pershing, the Broncs saw their offensive game sputter to a halt in the third quarter against Hum-phrey St. Francis, with a 33-26 half time deficit crashing to a 54-33 ball game after the Flyers took off on a 14-0, 3:25 run. Alberts got off a shot inside to staunch the bleeding, but the damage was done.
     Early on, the contest appeared up for grabs, with the Broncs running even with the Flyers to wrap the first quarter at 14-14.
     WP took an 18-14 lead early in the second quarter on a pair of foul shots by Padilla and putback by Lytle, before the Flyers took the lead for good on an 8-0 run.
     St. Francis used a rough, aggressive press to stir up steals and force turnovers, with the Broncs committing 29 errors to the Flyers 11 turnovers.
     They shut down the Broncs outside shooting, with WP hitting only 10 percent from beyond the arc, as well as their inside game, with Harris, who netted just four points, all on free throws, taking a battering under the basket. Just as the Broncs took their 18-14 lead she left the floor with a bloody lip.
     "They shut Janae down," noted Lauhead. "They must've talked to Cambridge and gotten the word she was the player to focus on."
     Anderjaska led the Broncs with 12 points and nine rebounds, with Alberts adding 11 points and five blocks. Padilla had nine points.