Class B Girls State Basketball Preview
By Dean Backes
It’s ladies up first in Nebraska when it comes to putting on the show that decides which basketball programs take home the state championship hardware. While many of the same programs are back in the hunt, there are no guarantees when it comes to March Madness.
Here at Heartland Prep Basketball Scoop, we’ve taken some time to crunch numbers and pick the field ahead of this weekend’s State Basketball Tournament. Then, we gathered data from MaxPreps and elsewhere to make a list of the state tournament’s top players.
Three rematches kickoff the Class B field when quarterfinal play begins Thursday. MaxPreps top-ranked Omaha Skutt Catholic upended No. 6 Norris 56-50 last month and braces for its quarterfinal matchup with the Titans Thursday while fourth-ranked Bennington and No. 8 Sidney square off for the first time this season at 3:15 Thursday.
Second-ranked Lincoln Pius X knocked off quarterfinal foe Gretna East twice this season. Both contests were close, however, with the Thunderbolts outscoring the No. 3 Griffins 43-41 and 46-41. Waverly and York are scheduled to tipoff at 7:45 PM at Pinnacle Bank Arena. The fifth-ranked Vikings defeated No. 7 York in December 43-30.
Now, let’s take a look at the weekend’s Class B field.
Picking the Field for Class B
No. 1 Omaha Skutt Catholic (25-1) over No. 6 Norris (16-8)
No. 4 Bennington (21-4) over No. 8 Sidney (22-4)
No. 2 Lincoln Pius X (22-4) over No. 3 Gretna East (18-6)
No. 5 Waverly (20-3) over No. 7 York (23-3)
No. 1 Omaha Skutt Catholic (26-1) over No. 4 Bennington (22-4)
No. 2 Lincoln Pius X (23-4) over No. 5 Waverly (21-3)
Championship: No. 1 Omaha Skutt Catholic (27-1) over No. 2 Lincoln Pius X (24-4)
Dark Horse: York
Class B Scoring Leaders
Molly Ladwig, Omaha Skutt Catholic 471 Points (18.8)
Parker Christiansen, Waverly 379 Points (16.5)
Keeleigh Knobbe, Lincoln Pius X 368 Points (14.2)
Chloe Koch, York 314 Points (12.1)
Karli Williams, Gretna East 238 Points (11.9)
Kierra Schrader, Sidney 298 Points (11.4)
Mia McMahon, Omaha Skutt Catholic 281 Points (11.2)
Landri Gates, Norris 261 Points (10.9)
Annie Harms, Waverly 235 Points (10.0)
Taryn French, Gretna East 204 Points (10.7)
Skylar Jonson, Bennington 263 Points (10.5)
Lainey Portwine, York 269 Points (10.3)
Kamryn Kasner, Omaha Skutt Catholic 256 Points (10.2)
Presley Baca, Bennington 254 Points (10.2)
Ize Tidball, Norris 241 Points (10.0)
Class B Rebound Leaders
Kamryn Kasner, Omaha Skutt Catholic 257 Rebounds (10.3)
Ray Wegner, Norris 144 Rebounds (8.0)
Lainey Portwine, York 202 Rebounds (7.8)
Hannah Bedient, Lincoln Pius X 184 Rebounds (7.1)
Izedora Tidball, Norris 151 Rebounds (6.3)
Parker Christiansen, Waverly 146 Rebounds (6.3)
Karli Williams, Gretna East 118 Rebounds (5.9)
Reagan Nesbitt, Sidney 122 Rebounds (5.5)
Kenna Kottman, Waverly 119 Rebounds (5.2)
Mia Jackson, Waverly 105 Rebounds (5.0)
Chloe Koch, York 119 Rebounds (4.6)
Alaina Michaelis, Omaha Skutt Catholic 110 Rebounds (4.4)
Sonora De Fini, Gretna East 91 Rebounds (4.3)
Ellie Wells, Lincoln Pius X 108 Rebounds (4.2)
Alli Bornschlegl, Norris 82 Rebounds (4.1)
Macie Reiner, Bennington 102 Rebounds (4.1)
Molly Ladwig, Omaha Skutt Catolic 102 Rebounds (4.1)
Alexandra John, Bennington 102 Rebounds (4.1)
Kinslee Kern, York 105 Rebounds (4.0)
Class B Assist Leaders
Harper Bohaboj, Bennington 131 Assists (5.2)
Macie Reiner, Bennington 83 Assists (3.3)
Molly Ladwig, Omaha Skutt Catholic 75 Assists (3.0)
Kamryn Kasner, Omaha Skutt Catholic 75 Assists (3.0)
Lainey Portwine, York 75 Assists (2.9)
Kayla Westby, Sidney 75 Assists (2.9)
Anastyn Harms, Waverly 70 Assists (2.9)
Ryan Dillehay, Sidney 70 Assists (2.7)
Chloe Koch, York 65 Assists (2.5)
Ava Markowski, Lincoln Pius X 58 Assists (2.3)
Landri Gates, Norris 52 Assists (2.2)
Parker Christiansen, Waverly 51 Assists (2.2)
Karli Williams, Gretna East 44 Assists (2.2)
Marlee Emerson, Norris 49 Assists (2.0)
Ellie Wells, Lincoln Pius X 51 Assists (2.0)
Ize Tidball, Norris 47 Assists (2.0)
Addison LaRock, Gretna East 42 Assists (2.0)
Class B Steal Leaders
Karli Williams, Gretna East 77 Steals (3.9)
Lainey Portwine, York 99 Steals (3.8)
Harper Bohaboj, Bennington 90 Steals (3.6)
Ize Tidball, Norris 68 Steals (2.8)
Chloe Koch, York 73 Steals (2.8)
Carli Black, Sidney 72 Steals (2.8)
Kayla Westby, Sidney 70 Steals (2.7)
Mia McMahon, Omaha Skutt Catholic 67 Assists (2.7)
Alli Bornschlegl, Norris 54 Steals (2.7)
Ava Markowski, Lincoln Pius X 59 Steals (2.4)
Landri Gates, Norris 56 Steals (2.3)
Addison Reinoehl, Bennington 58 Steals (2.3)
Macie Reiner, Bennington 57 Steals (2.3)
Kierra Schrader, Sidney 56 Steals (2.2)
Molly Ladwig, Omaha Skutt Catholic 53 Steals (2.1)
Anastyn Harms, Waverly 48 Steals (2.1)
Sonora De Fini, Gretna East 45 Steals (2.1)
Marlee Emerson, Norris 49 Steals (2.0)
Class B Block Leaders
Parker Cristiansen, Waverly 50 Blocks (2.2)
Presley Baca, Bennington 29 Blocks (1.2)
Ellie Wells, Lincoln Pius X 17 Blocks (0.7)
Kinslee Kern, York (17 Blocks (0.7)
Hailey Levinson, Gretna East 14 Blocks (0.7)
Lainey Portwine, York 16 Blocks (0.6)
Ray Wegner, Norris 10 Blocks (0.6)
Allie John, Bennington 13 Blocks (0.5)
Lilee Wieser, Sidney 13 Blocks (0.5)