Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Sidney's Maddie Stafford defends against Omaha Gross Catholic on Saturday.
Coaches constantly preach about having their teams play "complete games." That's especially true when it's taking on talent-laden opponents.
The Sidney High girls' basketball team can look back at Saturday night's Western Conference Tournament championship game knowing it hung tough with Omaha Catholic Gross, but simply missed out on putting together that four-quarter effort.
The Lady Raiders went nearly eight minutes without scoring a point in the second half during their 42-28 loss at Western Nebraska Community College – and that dry spell proved costly.
"During that stretch, we had way too many turnovers and so many empty possessions," said Sidney head coach Tyler Shaw. "When you play a good team like that, it's hard to get over the hump when droughts like that happen."
Shaw and the Lady Raiders know just when things started to go awry.
Sidney's Savanna Rosenbaum scored on a fast-break layup with 2:24 to play in the third quarter that cut Omaha Gross' lead to 26-25. From that point, the Cougars went on a 16-0 run that didn't end until Sidney's Jasmine Jallen made a layup with 2:41 left in the game.
By then, though, the damage had been done and the Lady Raiders trailed 42-27. The team's played an uneventful last few minutes before Omaha Gross claimed the championship trophy.
Sidney is 2-1 this season, while the Cougars improved to 3-0.
"Our defense was good at the start and really kept us in the game," Shaw said. "I'm really proud of the girls' effort. Making the championship game was a great accomplishment. We have a tremendous amount of newcomers on the court this season. It was just great to get a chance to look at some different combinations and lineups in these first three games."
The Lady Raiders led 10-6 after the first quarter, but Sidney struggled to score in the second quarter – managing just four points – and trailed 17-14 at the intermission. The Lady Raiders rallied to tie the game at 21-21 just three minutes into the third period, and trailed by just a point before the scoring drought that started two minutes later.
Sidney benefitted from some balanced scoring in the title game, as eight different players scored. Jasmine Jallen and Erin Bown led the way with five points apiece, while teammates Emily Mahr and Rosenbaum chipped in four each.
Omaha Gross' Kayla Johnk led all scorers in the contest with 12 points.
"Someone different stepped up in each of our first three games, and that was really great to see," Shaw added. "Everyone on the team has done some really good things and everyone has things to fix. I think it is was a good learning experience for the ladies and myself.
"And, as coaches we have to continue to try to figure out some things as well," he said. "We will look at the film and look at things that we need to improve. We will keep working with these ladies because they are hard-working and smart girls that are great kids."
The Lady Raiders return to action on Friday night when they travel to Chase County (1-1) in Imperial, Neb. Tip time is 6 p.m.
Friday's semifinals
Sidney 38, Chadron 31
The Lady Raiders used a lock-down defense and also benefited from sinking 14 free throws on 22 attempts to beat Chadron 38-31 in the tournament semifinals.
Sidney's Ashley Stafford posted 12 points and four rebounds for the Lady Raiders and was active all over the court. Sophomore forward Maddi Porter collected seven rebounds in limited action, while guard Kelsey Knight contributed four points, five rebounds and three assists.
Sportswriter Will Korn contributed to this story.
Western Conference Tournament
Girls’ Division
Thursday, Dec. 4
Sidney 44, Greeley West (Colo.) 25
Chadron 43, Gering 27
Omaha Gross 73, Alliance 38
Mitchell 63, Scottsbluff 50
Friday, Dec. 5
Sidney 38, Chadron 31
Omaha Gross 58, Mitchell 46
Gering 50, Greeley West 34
Scottsbluff 68, Alliance 32
Saturday, Dec. 6
7th-place game – Alliance 50, Greeley West 42
5th-place game – Scottsbluff 68, Gering 32
3rd-place game – Chadron 48, Mitchell 41
Championship game – Omaha Gross 42, Sidney 28
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