Heartland PrepBasketball Scoop

Class B Girls

State Tournament

2026 Class B Girls State Basketball Preview

By Dean Backes

March 2, 2026

5 min read

Class B Girls State Basketball Preview

It's ladies up first in Nebraska when it comes to putting on the show that decides which basketball programs take home the championship hardware. While many of the same programs are back in the hunt, there are no guarantees when it comes to March Madness.

Three rematches kick off the Class B field Thursday. Top seed Norris opens with Blair after knocking the Bears off 37-35 in mid-January while defending Class B runner-up Gretna East faces Sidney after upending the Red Raiders 63-37 during regular season play.

Top-ranked and unbeaten Bennington squares off with Scottsbluff once again Thursday after besting the Red Raiders 61-39 Jan. 9. Lincoln Pius X, meanwhile, is set to face Beatrice in the only Class B quarterfinal that is not a rematch.

A new Class B state champion will be crowned in 2026 with the absence of defending state champion Omaha Skutt Catholic. Beatrice stifled Skutt Catholic's streak of five straight state tournament appearances with a 39-38 win during District B-6 action.

The SkyHawks played for four straight state titles during the run before earning the school's first girls state basketball championship last March.

Picking the Field for Class B

Quarterfinals

No. 2 Norris (22-3) over No. 7 Blair (17-7)

No. 4 Gretna East (20-5) over No. 5 Sidney (19-5)

No. 1 Bennington (25-0) over No. 8 Scottsbluff (17-8)

No. 3 Lincoln Pius X (20-4) over No. 6 Beatrice (18-6)

Semifinals

No. 2 Norris (23-3) over No. 4 Gretna East (21-5)

No. 1 Bennington (26-0) over No. 3 Lincoln Pius X (21-4)

Championship

No. 1 Bennington (27-0) over No. 2 Norris (24-3)

Dark Horse

Sidney

Winning Streaks

Bennington – 25 Straight Wins (Won 25 of last 25 Games)

Gretna East – 13 Straight Wins (Won 16 of last 16 Games)

Scottsbluff – 8 Straight Wins (Won 10 of last 11 Games)

Sidney – 5 Straight Wins (Won 8 of last 10 Games)

Beatrice – 4 Straight Wins (Won 7 of last 10 Games)

Lincoln Pius X – 3 Straight Wins (Won 16 of last 18 Games)

Norris – 2 Straight Wins (Won 9 of last 10 Games)

Blair – 1 Straight Loss (Won 7 of last 9 Games)

Scoring Leaders

Ava Reed

Scottsbluff

16.2

Kiley Hatcliff

Beatrice

14.9

Macie Reiner

Bennington

14.7

Cadence Field

Blair

14.3

Ava Markowski

Lincoln Pius X

13.9

Callie Schwisow

Beatrice

12.4

Laramey Misegadis

Sidney

12.1

Addy Bowlin

Scottsbluff

11.6

Haydin Jackson

Bennington

11.6

Harper Bohaboj

Bennington

11.4

Landri Gates

Norris

10.6

Ize Tidball

Norris

10.5

Kate Wulf

Blair

10.5

Taryn French

Gretna East

10.4

Skylar Johnson

Bennington

10.2

Beau Wendt

Blair

10

Rebound Leaders

Kiley Hatcliff

Beatrice

11.2

Reagan Nesbitt

Sidney

8.6

Callie Schwisow

Beatrice

7.7

Finnley Martin

Scottsbluff

7.4

Ray Wegner

Norris

7

Macie Reiner

Bennington

6.8

Ize Tidball

Norris

6.5

Cadence Field

Blair

6.1

Madi Shelburne

Gretna East

5.9

Addy Bowlin

Scottsbluff

5.8

Assist Leaders

Austen Davis

Lincoln Pius X

5.4

Kate Miller

Lincoln Pius X

5.4

Harper Bohaboj

Bennington

5.6

Macie Reiner

Bennington

4.6

Jordynn Schnell

Sidney

3.8

Cadence Field

Blair

3.7

Callie Schwisow

Beatrice

3.5

Finnley Martin

Scottsbluff

3.2

Landri Gates

Norris

2.6

Ava Markowski

Lincoln Pius X

2.6

Ize Tidball

Norris

2.6

Ava Reed

Scottsbluff

2.4

Sophia Lindsey

Gretna East

2.4

Skylar Johnson

Bennington

2.3

Steal Leaders

Harper Bohaboj

Bennington

4.5

Macie Reiner

Bennington

4.4

Ava Reed

Scottsbluff

3.7

Laramey Misegadis

Sidney

3.7

Ize Tidball

Norris

3.6

Cadence Field

Blair

2.9

Justice Love

Gretna East

2.9

Kate Miller

Lincoln Pius X

2.8

Haydin Jackson

Bennington

2.3

Addy Bowlin

Scottsbluff

2.2

Beau Wendt

Blair

2.2

Ava Markowski

Lincoln Pius X

2.2

Callie Schwisow

Beatrice

2

Blocked Shot Leaders

Ray Wegner

Norris

0.9

Addy Bowlin

Scottsbluff

0.7

Jordynn Schnell

Sidney

0.7

Elayne Graver

Gretna East

0.7

Skylar Johnson

Bennington

0.7

Austen Davis

Lincoln Pius X

0.6

Paige Gargano

Bennington

0.5

Madi Shelburne

Gretna East

0.5

Maci Reiner

Bennington

0.5

Ally Sullivan

Blair

0.5

Allie John

Bennington

0.5

Ava Markowski

Lincoln Pius X

0.5

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