Nebraska State Girls Basketball Bracket Championship Update 3

Nebraska State Girls Basketball Bracket Championship Update 3

The Nebraska state girls basketball bracket championships have begun and will be decided on Saturday. This year's tournament takes place March 1-4 at Pinnacle Bank Arena and Devaney Center in Lincoln.

On Thursday night at Devaney Racetrack, it was high stakes action all night long. Centura's point girl Taya Christensen finally broke Elgin Public/Pope John and the Centurions took home a 45-27 victory.

Creighton vs. Northwestern

Creighton enters its final game of the regular season with a 7-6 record and a win over DePaul in their most recent match. That victory propelled Creighton out of the bottom three in conference standings and into the top seven, where it will play eighth-seeded Northwestern on Saturday night in an exciting matchup featuring a 15.5-point spread.

Since 2000-2001, the Jays are 12-1 SU and 6-5 ATS against Creighton. This marks the first time in five years Creighton has defeated a team expected to win at least eight games, as well as against an opponent with a winning record in the league.

Senior guard Antoine Young is playing basketball as if his career were on the line against DePaul. In 10 of his last 11 games, he has scored double-figures and posted a season average of 15.9 points and 4.4 assists per game.

On Jan. 7 at Bradley, sophomore Doug McDermott scored a career-high 44 points - an unprecedented school record and the most points scored by any Creighton player since Benoit Benjamin had 45 against Akron in 1985. His field goal percentage of.610 ranks him among the top 15 among all players in the Mountain Valley Conference (MVC).

Gibbs had a career-high 12 assists in Creighton's win against Northwestern, which set an Omaha CenturyLink Center record and tied Tyler McKinney for the most assists since Dec. 21, 2002.

At CenturyLink Center Omaha, the Bluejays have an impressive 65-16 record - second only to Tulsa's 69-15 mark.

In the MVC Tournament finals against Illinois State, Illinois Tech made a team record 12-of-14 shooting performance from beyond the arc - ranking fourth in school history for teams making at least 10 three-pointers per game. It's also an NCAA record and tied for sixth best by teams with at least 10 triples made per game since NCAA inception.

Pender vs. Central Catholic

Lincoln, Nebraska -- The NSAA girls state basketball tournament is in full swing and this is one of Nebraska high school basketball fans' most thrilling times of year. The bracket has been set, the televised games have begun and on Saturday afternoon, one winner will be crowned at Pinnacle Bank Arena and Devaney Center in Lincoln.

On a more hopeful note, 6 Siouxland teams were in action on Friday as they compete for an opportunity to advance. Hartington Cedar Catholic took on Centuria in their first game of the day and made the most of their chance by defeating them 65-45.

On the horizon awaited Pender and Guardian Angels Central Catholic in a fierce rivalry that had never been settled before. Ultimately, the Pendragons emerged victorious with 54-41 victory to advance to their first C2 state title game in school history.

What made the win even more remarkable was how perfectly the Pendragons executed their defensive half. They caused seven turnovers in the first quarter, led by three steals from senior forward Maddie Nelson.

The team's offense was also the most efficient in the state. They shot an impressive 30 percent from the field and made all but four shots from behind the arc. Other highlights included a balanced scoring effort and an important seven-point run to start the second half. With these wins, Pendragons have now won four straight and will advance to class b finals against Omaha Skutt Catholic.

Crofton vs. Oakland-Craig

The State girls basketball tournament is in full swing, with several Siouxland teams involved and hoping to advance to the championship game. On Friday night, Crofton Warriors faced off against Oakland-Craig Knights in a fast and furious start for both sides but ultimately it would be the Knights who came out on top 58 to 39 in favor. Senior Sadie Nelson spoke to us after the game about her team's excitement and what this win means for them.

On Saturday, July 31st at 4:15 p.m., WKOW Madison, WAOW Wausau, WXOW La Crosse, WQOW Eau Claire and WYOW Eagle River will broadcast live the state championship game from Omaha. Come watch your team compete for glory and see if yours makes it there - we'll see you there! Stay tuned for further updates from Nebraska throughout the day.