Lady Bears take second in Shootout
WAYNE — It had been a while since the Laurel-Concord-Coleridge Lady Bears started the Great Northeast Neb. Shootout on the right foot.
After the Holiday break was extended by two days due to a winter storm, the Lady Bears came out of a week-long break to get the tournament started with a 55-52 win over Wayne Dec. 29.
Unfortunately, the Lady Bears weren’t able to keep that momentum into the Dec. 31 finals, as Norfolk Catholic was able to build a 20-point advantage and hold off a comeback for the 51-40 win in the White Bracket title game.
Coach Nate Sims said he was happy to see his team play well enough to win after the long layoff, something they haven’t been able to do in recent years.
“After seven days, you never know how a team is going to show up,” he said. “We got off to a decent start. I thought we could play better, but in the past we haven’t played well in this tournament on the first day, so to get a win is a good feeling.”
Saturday’s matchup with the host Blue Devils was a tight battle, as neither team was able to build a big advantage. The Lady Bears put together a solid fourth quarter and got key baskets down the stretch from Makayla Forsberg, Erica Wolfgram and Lorna Maxon to come away with the win.
Kinsey Hall led the Lady Bears with 12 points while Forsberg and Delaney Ehlers each had 11, Maxon scored nine and Wolfgram and Madisyn Hall had six apiece.
On Monday, the Lady Bears struggled to get their offense in gear against Norfolk Catholic’s pressure defense. They were able to heat up from outside in the fourth quarter, but the 20-point lead the Lady Knights built was too much to overcome for the 5-5 Lady Bears.
“The first three quarters, we just weren’t with it and it was a lot of things that we forced and didn’t move the ball well,” Sims said. “When you’re down 20 with eight minutes left it’s tough, but I give our girls credit for battling back. I just wish we’d done it sooner.”
Maxon led a balanced attack with 10 points, Wolfgram, Ehlers and Kinsey Hall had seven apiece, Forsberg had five and Madisyn Hall had four.
Norfolk Cath 13 10 18 10 — 51
LCC 6 7 11 16 — 40
SCORING LCC - Lorna Maxon, 12; Erica Wolfgram, 7; Delaney Ehlers, 7; Kinsey Hall, 7; Makayla Forsberg, 5; Madisyn Hall, 2. Norfolk Catholic - Anna Kassmeier, 11; Hanna Neesen, 10; Hayden Wolf, 9; Carly Marshall, 8; Mary Fennessy, 4; Jozy Piper, 3; Anna Neuhalfen, 2; Emily Faltys, 2; Taylor Kautz, 2.
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