The Guardian Angels Central Catholic Girls came up a win short of achieving the ultimate dream of winning a state title as the Bluejays lost 46-43 to Crofton in the Class C-2 State Championship game at Pinnacle Bank Arena Saturday night. GACC defeated Superior 68-39 in Friday's semifinals at the Bob Devaney Sports Center and notched a 56-34 win over Stanton in the first round at Lincoln Southwest on Thursday.
The Bluejays led the Mustangs 19-12 at the end of one. GACC won the second quarter 7-6 to lead 26-18 at halftime.
The Bluejays outscored Stanton 18-12 in the third quarter to go up 44-30 at the end of three.
GACC tripled up the Mustangs 12-4 in the fourth quarter.
Breanne Kreikemeier led all scorers with 11 points. Lexis Haase and Katie Steuter totaled 9 apiece while Kate Knobbe and Katey Brown registered 8 and 7, respectively.
The Bluejays led the Wildcats 27-9 at the end of one. GACC outscored Superior 16-12 in the second quarter to take a 43-21 lead into the locker room.
The Bluejays won the third quarter 13-9 to go up 56-30 after three.
GACC notched 12 fourth quarter points and limited the Wildcats to 9.
Brown had a game-high 18 points. Kreikemeier added 11 while Haase totaled 8. Kate and Maddie Knobbe recorded 7 each.
The Bluejays held a 12-11 lead on the Warriors after one. Crofton won the second quarter 10-6 to go up 21-18 at halftime.
GACC outscored the Warriors 17-12 in the third quarter to lead 35-33 at the end of three.
Crofton put up 13 fourth quarter points compared to just 8 for the Bluejays.
Kate Knobbe and Brown had a team-high 9 points apiece while Steuter and Haase registered 7 each.
It had to be somewhat disappointing end to the season for GACC. The Bluejays had their chance to win another state championship.
GACC wraps up a memorable campaign with a 27-2 record.
The Bluejays had a ton of big wins this season, including victories over Crofton (twice), Wayne (twice), Columbus Scotus, Emerson-Hubbard, Howells-Dodge, Bishop Neumann, Wynot, Hartington Cedar Catholic, Pierce, Oakland-Craig, and Ponca.
Of those 11 teams, 7 made state and 4 were either state champions or state runner-ups.
That really says something about how great GACC was.
The Bluejays lose a talented class of seniors, including Kate Knobbe, Brown, Steuter, Morgan Bracht, Kreikemeier, and Sara Wordekemper.
These six seniors were key contributors and leaders for GACC not only this season, but throughout their careers.
The Bluejays should be good again next year with the return of Haase, Maddie Knobbe, Hannah Hunke, Lauren Wobken, Emily Reeson, and others.
GACC may not be as dominant next year as they were this year, but I still expect the Bluejays to make a run at the state title and make state for the 20th straight season.
There's talks of GACC moving back down to D-1, and if that happens, the Bluejays should be the favorite to win the state championship.
As long as players grow, work hard, and develop in the offseason there's no reason to think GACC won't be good again in 2016-2017.
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