Wynot beats the best for State title
LINCOLN — If you want to be the best you have to beat the best.
The Wynot Lady Blue Devils did just that at the state basketball tournament last week.
Wynot got one point wins over the number two and number one rated teams, sandwiched between a late dismantling of the number three rated team.
Wynot completed the mission as they took home the championship on Saturday night with a 39-38 win over the Falls City Sacred Heart Irish.
The two teams are very familiar with each other. Since 2011, either Falls City Sacred Heart or Wynot has claimed the State title. They have now played each other three times in the state title game with the Irish earning the win in their previous two meetings.
The Lady Blue Devils built a 14-point lead early in the third quarter only to see the Irish rally and make it a nail biter at the end. A big factor in the game was the Lady Blue Devils depth as they got an 11-4 advantage in points off the bench to help them to the big win.
Wynot was led by a balanced attack with Karley Heimes hitting for 11 points. Katelyn Heine and Shaelee Planer each finished with 10 points to help the Lady Devils to the big win.
Falls City Sacred Heart had double-digit scoring from Rachel Magdanz with 12 points and Erison Vonderschmidt finished with eight points and eight rebounds for the Irish.
In the first quarter, both teams had trouble finding their shooting touch.
Wynot got ve points from Katelyn Heine and Falls City had a pair of layups from Witt McKenzie as the Irish earned an 8-7 lead at the first break.
The Blue Devils caught re in the second quarter, as they forced several turnovers and turned
them into points to build a big 18-5 run. Rachel Magdanz got the only field goal for the Irish.
Meanwhile, Shaelee Planer had a pair of layups, Karley Heimes and Katelyn Heine drained three-pointers, and Noelle Wieseler had a steal and breakaway layup to fuel the Blue Devils scoring burst. Wynot had built a 25-13 halftime lead.
The third quarter opened with a Shaelee Planer layup to push the Lady Devils lead to 14 points. Wynot also got a jumper in the lane from Karley Heimes. Falls City got layups from Witt McKenzie and Ahren Ebel but the Blue Devils maintained a 30-21 lead going into the fourth quarter.
In the early part of the fourth quarter, Wynot would keep the lead with buckets by Shaelee Planer and Karley Heimes, but the Lady Irish began to whittle away at their lead. Rachel Magdanz, Ahren Ebel, and Elizabeth Keithley all hit field goals for the Irish. A Rachel Magdanz three-pointer cut the lead to 39-36 and a short jumper by Danielle Bippes made it 39-38 with 24 seconds left. Both teams would miss free throws in the final seconds as Wynot held on for the 39-38 win.
Katelyn Heine and Shaelee Planer earned all-tournament honors for their efforts at State.
Wynot 7 18 5 9 - 39
FCSH 8 5 8 17 - 38
SCORING Wynot- Karley Heimes 11, Katelyn Heine 10, Shaelee Planer 10, Noelle Wieseler 5, Michaela Lange 2, Kaitlyn Heimes 1. FCSH- Rachel Magdanz 12, Ahren Ebel 8, Erison Vonder- schmidt 8, Witt McKenzie 4, Elizabeth Keithley 4, Danielle Bippes 2.
REBOUNDS Wynot- Shaelee Planer 4, Katelyn Heine 4, Karley Heimes 3. FCSH- Ericson Vonderschmidt 8, Danielle Bippes 5.
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