Girls State Hoops: Jaguars Win, Three Losses, One Game Today

Only one of four area girls basketball teams survived and advanced Wednesday as the girls state basketball tournament got underway in Lincoln. 

Howells-Dodge defeated Sandhills/Thedford 52-44 at Pinnacle Bank Arena.  The Jaguars, seeded No. 4, improved to 14-10 and will meet top-seeded Overton in Friday’s Class D2 semifinals.  The Eagles are 26-1 after a 51-27 win over Paxton.  Tomorrow’s tipoff at the Devaney Sports Center is set for 6 p.m. and the game can be heard on KZ-100. 

In another D2 quarterfinal last night, No. 7 seed Humphrey St. Francis was smothered by defending state champion and perennial state tourney nemesis Falls City Sacred Heart 30-21.  The Flyers wound up with a 15-10 record.  Both area girls clubs in the C2 tournament lost yesterday, although seventh-seeded Clarkson/Leigh appeared to be on the verge of beating undefeated Crofton before falling 38-32 in overtime.  The Patriots finished at 17-7.  No. 4 seed Cross County was bounced out of the C2 tourney by Bishop Neumann 61-40, wrapping up a 23-4 campaign for the Cougars. 

One more area squad plays in the C1 quarterfinals Thursday.  Four-time defending state champ North Bend, seeded No. 8 this year, takes on top-seeded Lincoln Christian.  Tipoff at “the Bob” is set for 9 a.m. and you can hear play-by-play on KLIR 101.