Pats Defeat Class B Northwest in GBB Basketball Showcase!
By: Kennedy Settje, a senior at Leigh High School
A high-caliber group of 16 teams gathered at Kearney High School on January 8th to compete in the Nebraska Girls’ Basketball Showcase.
The Patriots were invited to play in the showcase and had the privilege of doing so. Teams were matched up against another school who would be good competition for them, and all the games for the day were very close games. The Patriots were selected to go head to head against the Class B Grand Island Northwest Vikings at 12:10.
Other teams who took part in the showcase included York, Kearney High, Grand Island Central Catholic, North Bend Central, Sidney, Oakland-Craig, Auburn, Broken Bow, Bridgeport, Adams Central, Maywood-Hayes Center, Blue Hill, Anselmo-Merna, and Cross County.
The game started off slow for the Patriots. The Vikings were knocking down threes from deep, and the Patriots couldn’t stop them. Their speed, handles, and shooting seemed to be a little too much for the Patriots in the first quarter.
After the Patriots got their feet under them after the first quarter, they seemed to settle in. They came out in the second quarter eager to scrape away at the Viking’s lead.
GINW didn’t have as much success with the three as they did in the 1st quarter. The Clarkson Leigh defense stepped up their game. They also stepped up their offensive game by attacking the seams and getting to the free throw line. After a solid second quarter, the Patriots were only behind by 2, 23-25, going into halftime.
After making some adjustments on the defensive end and sticking to the offensive plan, the Patriots came out of halftime ready to go. They were scoring from everywhere on the court. From knocking down threes to attacking the lane to making free throws, the Patriots were firing from all cylinders. The Patriots had all the momentum going into the fourth quarter after a great offensive half and lockdown defense.
The score going into the fourth quarter was 36-27 favoring the Patriots.
Although the 4th quarter was similar for both teams, the Patriots’ lead in the third quarter was enough to solidify the win. The Pats carrying all the momentum in the third quarter was too much for the Vikings to overcome. The Patriots left Kearney High with another win under their belt. The final score was 47-36.
Senior, Makenna Held said, “The Showcase game we are able to play in at Kearney was a really cool experience. There was a lot of good competition there, and being asked to be a part of this event was a huge honor for our team. We started a little slow in the first quarter, but after that we really locked down on defense which allowed us to get a lead and win the game. This was a great win for our team and I can't wait to see what we can do with the rest of our season.”
Head Coach Matt Murren said this about the game: "Northwest came out hot in the first quarter hitting 4 3's and scoring 19 points against us. We made a switch to play only man in the 2nd quarter and the girls rose to the occasion. We only allowed 17 points the next three quarters. In the second half we only gave up a 2PT FG and one 3PT FG. The intensity and lockdown mentality on the defensive end was fun to watch from the sideline. On the offensive side, Chloe Hanel and Kennedy Settje really stepped up for us and made plays all night. Makenna Held hit a big 3 in the 4th and the whole team handled the ball great all night. Overall, we showed we were able to play against a high-level Class B team in a statewide event. I was proud of our whole team to get it done and show we can play in this type of event and against this type of competition."
Game Stats:
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
GINW 19 6 2 9 36
Clarkson/Leigh 12 11 13 11 47
Individual Stats: (points, rebounds, assists, steals)
Chloe Hanel: 21, 4, 2, 3; Kennedy Settje: 21, 9, 1, 0; Makenna Held: 5, 0, 4, 2; Faith Indra: 0, 3, 1, 1; Korbee Wendt: 0, 4, 1, 1; Gracie Eisenmann: 0, 0, 0, 1