It was a back and forth affair in the D1-4 Sub-District Final at Wisner-Pilger on Thursday, February 16th between the Guardian Angels Central Catholic and Pender Girls with the Bluejays outlasting the Pendragons 59-56.
Pender jumped on GACC early and led 19-15 after one before the Bluejays outscored the Pendragons 15-11 in the second quarter to tie the game at 30 at halftime.
Pender started the second half on a 10-0 run, and won the third quarter 12-10 to lead 42-40 after three.
GACC came through in the end though, putting up 19 points in the fourth quarter compared to 14 for Pender.
Kam Anderson led all scorers with 18 points while Amber English registered 16. Hallie Ballinger totaled 13 points and 11 rebounds, good enough for a double-double, while Cecilee Jacobsen added 9 rebounds.
Head Coach Larry Ballinger says the game was well played. "Yeah, no I thought my team played well. I thought both teams played extremely well. It was probably one of the best played games that I've been a part of. Both teams hitting key shots. The other one would go on a little run, and then the other one would answer. And I thought it was just a great game to be a part of and a lot of fun."
18-8 and 7th seeded Pender meets 25-0 and 2nd seeded Dundy County-Stratton in the first round of the State Tournament in Lincoln Thursday afternoon. Ballinger says the Tigers are a very good team. "Yeah, no they're undefeated for a reason. And they're just a well disciplined team. They get aggressive on defense and throw a lot of different presses at you. And they're just a scrappy team that likes to get up and down the floor a lot."
The Pendragons received one of two wildcards to the state tournament.
Ballinger says it wasn't easy having to wait and see if they were going to get in. "Yeah that was a tough thing to do was sit and wait. And we did have practice trying to keep our spirits up a little bit and just try and do what we could and prepare. And if we did get ready, if we did make it in, we could be ready to go."
The Pendragons are appearing at state for the first time since 2014.
I think if Pender plays up to their capability they can upset and knock off the Tigers.
Howells-Dodge beat Dundy County-Stratton last year in the first round so perhaps the Pendragons can duplicate the Jaguars' efforts this year.
One thing is for sure...a lot of good basketball is played in Northeast Nebraska, and Pender is very battle tested.
The Tigers are undefeated though and are a very good team so beating them will be a very tall and daunting task.
The Pendragons have to play the way they did against the Bluejays in the Sub-District Final.
Pender has to play with that same sense of urgency and purpose that they played with against GACC.
The fans have to get excited and jacked up for this game...after all this is state.
Days and moments like these don't come very often in life so the Pendragons have to make the most of their State Tournament stay, and stick around a while if they can.
Pender is guaranteed three games if they win on Thursday so the Pendragons would be hanging around for a while if they are able to pull off the upset against Dundy County-Stratton.
Pender has to stay calm, poised, and relaxed at all times. The Pendragons can't let the atmosphere get to them.
Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m. at Lincoln Southwest, and the game will air on 107.9 the Bull.
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