The Tekamah-Herman Girls lost 30-26 at home to Clarkson/Leigh Thursday night before upsetting Twin River 44-38 in the first round of the East Husker Conference Tournament at Pender Friday night.
The Tigers led the Patriots 8-7 after one. Tekamah-Herman won the second quarter 5-4 to go up 13-11 at halftime.
Clarkson/Leigh outscored the Tigers 10-6 in the third quarter to go up 21-19 after three.
The Patriots outlasted Tekamah-Herman 9-7 in the fourth quarter.
The Tigers were led by Jessica Fleischman, who had 9 points. Marin Jetensky added 8.
Head Coach Scott Guzinski says it was a frustrating loss. "We just didn't handle the ball well at the end. So that was frustrating. Between the turnovers and the free throws when you only score 26 and the other team only scores 30, you miss 9 free throws and turn the ball over 17 times, that can make a big difference."
Guzinski adds his team has struggled against the 1-3-1 defense. "We haven't made a lot of three point shots this year. That's not where we score. And I'm begging kids to step into some gaps and take some 15 footers. And some of our kids they just don't have a lot of confidence right now."
Jetensky had 18 points to lead the way for Tekamah-Herman against the Titans. Fleischman added 14.
The Tigers may have been frustrated after the Clarkson/Leigh loss, but whatever was said and whatever they did to pick themselves up for the Twin River, obviously worked.
Tekamah-Herman (4-13) takes on Pender (15-4) in the winner's bracket at Howells-Dodge Monday night.
The Pendragons beat Logan View/Scribner-Snyder 57-33 at home in the tournament Friday night.
Pender and Tekamah-Herman met in Tekamah on December 2nd with the Pendragons winning 54-33.
I think the Tigers are a better team than what they were the first time around against Pender, but I also think the Pendragons might be better now than they were then too.
Tekamah-Herman just upset Twin River though so anything can happen.
The Tigers have to be feeling pretty optimistic and good about themselves heading into this game.
Tekamah-Herman has to feel like they have a shot at pulling another upset.
I'm sure most people anticipate Howells-Dodge and Pender playing again in the semifinals, but I'm willing to bet the Tigers would love nothing more than to spoil the party.
Tekamah-Herman plays good enough defense to keep themselves in most games, and if the Tigers can play defense the way they did against the Titans and Patriots, they may have a shot to win again.
Tekamah-Herman's offense has to show up though. The Tigers need solid offensive production if they are to come out on top.
Scoring 26 points is not going to get the job done against Pender, in my opinion.
And 44 was enough against Twin River, but I'm thinking the Tigers are going to need to score more against the Pendragons for the outcome to be in their favor.
Jetensky and Fleischman and even Maddy Horn need to get things going for Tekamah-Herman offensively, and the Tigers have to try and limit Kam Anderson, Hallie Ballinger, Cecliee Jacobsen, Amber English and others.
Pender has a lot of offensive weapons, and that's what makes them so tough, so it's important for Tekamah-Herman to defend every one well.
The Tigers have to gamble and take some chances defensively. Tekamah-Herman can't just sit back in a sagging zone per se and let the Pendragons shoot from the outside.
The Tigers need to be aggressive and smart attacking the basket, and need to box out and get offensive and defensive rebounds as well.
Monday night's game can be heard on 107.9 the Bull.
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