Waite spurs late Warriors charge

After eight lead changes and four ties in the first 21 minutes of play, Leyton's Kelsey Waite dropped in a third-quarter layuup that proved to be the final momentum reversal of the night.

Though not secure until the last quarter of play, the fourth seeded Warriors held on to the final lead change with a bull-dog grip on their way to a 44-37 victory over the No. 5 South Platte Blue Knights in round one of the MAC girls basketball tournament at Dalton. The win sets up a date with No. 1 seed Creek Valley on Thursday at 4:45 p.m. at Sidney Middle School.

"We knew it wouldn't be easy after the close game we had with them earlier in the season," said Katy Ernest whose inside game proved a problem for the Knights. "We haven't won the MAC in a long time. To win it this year would mean the world."

The Warriors outlasted the Blue Knights 38-33 in a game played on Dec. 13.

No. 3 Potter-Dix, which upended Banner County 46-29 in another first round game, will meet Garden County in the other semifinal at 8 p.m. in Sidney. No. 2 Garden County turned back No. 7 Minatare 57-31 last night in Oshkosh.

After Waite's layup to break a 30-30 tie with just over three minutes left in the third quarter, the Leyton faithful were brought out of their seats again when Kaitlyn Berner swished home a three to make it a 5-point lead.

When the third-period horn sounded the Warriors held a four-point edge at 35-31.

Just 10 seconds into the final frame, the Knights' Adalida Dickmander hit a short jumper to reel Leyton back to within a pair. But the Warriors turned up the heat on their guests, crafting a 9-0 run on offensive contributions from Ernest, Shaela Jenkins, Berner and Waite. When the streak ended the Leyton lead had balooned to 11 at 44-33 with four minutes left.

South Platte's Jordan Bartel and Grace Kotschwar gave their fans hope when they put 4 points together with still nearly three minutes to go. But Leyton played solid defense and slowed the pace in the final minutes to preserve the win.

The Knights managed just 12 point in the second half.

"This is our last chance to win a MAC so were going to give it our best," said the senior Waite who has twice been on a runner up team.

A free-throw battle waged for the first six plus minutes of the game with Leyton getting the better of South Platte 5-3. The Blue Knights' Bethany Spencer finally broke the ice from the field with a three pointer with 1:26 left in the opening period. The Warriors didn't hit a field goal until Emily Gill coaxed in a layup after 7:57 had elapsed.

As Gill finished the first with a duece so she opened the second with another. Her return of an offensive rebound was followed by Berner's first three of the game and a 4-point lead.

But the counter punches in the second were many. After four three pointers, five lead changes and no advantage built up greater than 4 points, the second quarter ended as it began. South Platte maintaied a one-point edge with a 25-24 lead.

Of the four three pointers in the second eight minutes, Leyton won that battle 3 to 1--Waite and Ernerst adding to Berner's earlier trey.

South Platte's antedote was solid free throw shooting. The Knights sank all six of their attempts. Leyton did not visit the line in the final eight minutes of the half.

Helped by a 6-8 shooting night which included hitting her only three-point attempt, Ernest led the Warriors offense with 17 points. Berner added 10 points and Waite had 8.

Berner added a team high 3 assists while Jenkins and Natalie Cruise aided on two buckets.

Waite and Ernest were also a strong presence on the boards with each pulling down 7 rebounds.

Diedra Waite was a big factor in the Warriors defense as she added 5 blocks to her 5 rebounds. Kelsey Waite had a pair of blocks. The ball thieves were led by Berner with 4 steals and Cruise nabbing 2.

With the Creek Valley Storm looming as the Warriors next opponent, there won't likely be any need for extra motivation. Creek Valley won the MAC last year by beating Leyton in the finals. There is also a little blood fued in the mix.

"I have two step sisters (Madison and Hannah Blackwelder) that play for Creek Valley and I always want to beat them," said Jenkins with a laugh. "We're really close but we get competitive when we play. We know Creek Valley is a good and they beat us last year so we'll have plenty of motivation."

Girls Basketball

Leyton 44

S. Platte 37