Big Game Coverage: Milford Holds On Over Central City

Class C-1, No. 1 Milford and No. 6 Central City played a fantastic sub-district final on Friday night. The Eagles led for most of the game before Central City came back behind a big performance from junior [player_tooltip player_id='1314684' first='Sydni' last='Homolka'] who had 23 points, but Milford was able to hang on for a 44-43 win. Both teams, however, do advance to the district final round in the class and will play on Friday for a trip to the Nebraska state tournament.   Milford will host Wahoo, while Central City travels to Raymond Central. Here are five standouts from Friday's contest.    Miller continues to shine in the post with front court mate [player_tooltip player_id='884235' first='Shayla' last='Rautenberg'] (more on her later). The 6-foot junior is going to be a complete steal at the college level for the program that gets her. On Friday, she had 16 points and four rebounds, while continuing to impact the defensive level. Miller's variety of post moves continues to impress and her willingness to use the left hand makes her a hard guard down low.     Another junior that should be on college coaches radar, Homolka nearly carried the Bison to the victory. She scored 17 of the Bison's 25 second half points and has a variety of moves from the wing that got both Miller and Rautenberg airborne during this contest. Homolka was 8-for-15 from the field and 6-for-6 from the line during the game and added six rebounds and three assists. She has season averages of 12.5 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.8 steals per contest. A three-sport athlete, Homolka also attracts volleyball interest, and both coaches at a small school should be willing to let her play both sports.     Crabtree's stat line is never going to jump off the page in a Milford game since they rely so much on their twin towers in the middle. But, she controls the pace of the game so well that it allows Milford to be in control usually from the jump. On Friday, Crabtree had just three points and shot just three times, but added four rebounds and an assist. Her floater in the lane in the fourth quarter against the Bison zone may have been the biggest bucket of the contest. It will be fun to watch Crabtree flourish in the open floor of the summer circuit this year.      Schindler scored five points in the contest, but wreaks havoc with her length defensively. She added four rebounds, two assists and two steals. At 5-10 and with the ability to shoot the ball from outside, Schindler projects well to the next level with two more years of growth to her game coming. Schindler has averages of 8.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 3.7 steals per game for the Bison. She'll be a key player in their district final against Raymond Central.     This space is going to beg Division 1 coaches to take a look at Nebraska's most talented volleyball player. The 6-4 sophomore is already the top volleyball recruit in the state and may move into the top-10 of our next ranking for the 2028 class in the postseason. On Friday, she dominated the paint for 22 points, 16 rebounds while also adding two blocks. Rautenberg's body control and ability to play without fouling has been key to her improvement this winter.

Class C-1, No. 1 Milford and No. 6 Central City played a fantastic sub-district final on Friday night. The Eagles led for most of the game before Central City came back behind a big performance from junior Sydni Homolka Sydni Homolka 5'9" | PG Central City | 2027 NE who had 23 points, but Milford was able to hang on for a 44-43 win. Both teams, however, do advance to the district final round in the class and will play on Friday for a trip to the Nebraska state tournament.