By Tina Kitt
    The Wauneta Breeze
    
     The Bronco girls basketball team got a long-awaited return trip to state. With some of this year's players serving as student managers back in 2001, the last time Coach Roger Lauhead commanded a team at the state tourney in Lincoln, they were ready for the return trip to call their own.
     This year the Broncs capped their 18-5 season with a final four state-tourney appearance at Persh-ing Auditorium. They defeated Overton in the opening round, before falling to Humphrey St. Francis, the eventual Class D1 champions.
     At the D1-6 district final in McCook, the Broncs avenged a regular season loss to Cambridge to advance to state. The Trojans, who entered the district matchup state-ranked ahead of the Broncs and appearing in solid shape in the wildcard standings, were edged from a state-tourney wildcard after No. 1 Humphrey St. Francis was upset in their district final.
     Several players were among the stat leaders this season, with senior Janae Harris knocking down the most points this year with 298 points garnered on 39 percent shooting from the field and 61 percent shooting from the foul line. She averaged 13 points a game. Harris was also the second leading rebounder for the Broncs with 177 boards.
     "Janae has been a strong leader. She is a really good rebounder and good shooter," noted Lauhead.
     Junior Betsy Anderjaska edged Harris for top rebounding honors as she crashed the glass for 178 boards - 62 offensive rebounds and 116 defensive boards. Anderjaska finished the season with 248 total points, averaging 10.8 points per game.
     Junior Stephanie Padilla led the squad in assists, dishing out 105, and in steals as she scrambled for 85. Padilla was also the Broncs' leading 3-point shooter, knocking down 35 treys this season in 35-of-114 shooting for 31 percent from downtown - only three treys short of tying the school record for single-season three-pointers. She had 280 points this season as the team's second leading scorer, averaging 12.2 points per game.
     Junior Kiane Alberts led the team in blocks with 72 stuffs. She averaged 11.2 points a game for 262 points this season. Sophomore Allison Ellicott had the Broncs' best shooting percentage from the foul line at 67.9 percent, sinking 19 of 28 from the charity stripe. Senior Jennifer Lytle played a critical role as the Broncs' sixth-player, coming in off the bench to grab 65 rebounds.
     The Broncs entered the season pegged as the No. 10 team in Class D1 by the Omaha World-Herald in their preseason poll, and remained state-ranked throughout the year.
     They finished rated as the No. 4 team in D1 in the final posting, after falling in the semifinals to the top-finishing Flyers in Lincoln.
     This marks the second-straight year the Bronco girls have remained state ranked throughout the season. During the 2003-04 season, the Broncs finished as the No. 7 team after a brief stint picked as No. 1 in D1.
     In addition to their district championship, the Broncs marked another milestone with their third straight conference title as the Bronco boys and girls touted back-to-back-to-back joint GPAC championships.
     All five Bronco starters received all-conference recognition, with Harris, Anderjaska and Padilla named to the GPAC first team, Alberts to the second team, and Ellicott garnering honorable mention.
     The Broncs five losses this season were to Cambridge, Medicine Valley, Southwest, Sutherland and Humphrey St. Francis. Year-end season stats show the Broncs outscored their opponents on average 56-41 and outre-bounded them 31-25. As a team they shot 38 percent from the field and 60 percent from the foul line.
     With four of five starters coming back, Lauhead expects his team to be tough on the court next year as well, but notes that the competition will be tougher as well. The conference will take on a different look as well next year, with Southwest, Dundy County, Arapahoe and Med. Valley set to join the GPAC.