Weekend Warriors: Six Big District Final Performances

The Nebraska girls state basketball tournament kicks off on Wednesday and runs through state championship Saturday (March 7) in Lincoln at Pinnacle Bank Arena and Bob Devaney Center. We will have coverage and top performers each day throughout the tournament. A perfect time to subscribe.   The brackets were set after district final games were played last Thursday, Friday and Saturday with 48 teams in six classes qualifying for Lincoln. Here are six big performers (one in each class) who willed their teams to the tournament.    In Lincoln Southwest's A-7 district final win over Millard North, Griffin scored 20 points and grabbed three rebounds. The sharp-shooting lefty who is committed to Wayne State was 3-for-3 from 3-point range and added a 9-for-12 performance from the free throw line. This season, Griffin is averaging 11.7 points and leads the Silverhawks in blocks. Griffin will be a key player in Lincoln Southwest's rubber match game with Kearney on Wednesday.     The definition of a shooting guard, French was one of the key reasons that the Griffins will make their second straight appearance in Lincoln. In Gretna East's 69-56 win over Northwest, French made big bucket after big bucket as the Griffins didn't shake the Vikings until the final two minutes. She scored 24 points (on six triples). For the season, the Nebraska-Kearney commit is averaging just under 11 points per contest.     Coming off a 23-point performance against top-ranked Milford in the sub-district final, Homolka scored 21 points in a 54-26 district final win over Raymond Central on Friday night. The 5-9 wing has turned her game up in the past two weeks to lead the Bison to their first-ever state tournament appearance. On Thursday, they get a rematch with Milford, who hung on for a 44-43 win the first time around. An elite three-sport athlete, Homolka's basketball stock continues to rise.     It seems like [player_tooltip player_id='757583' first='Mylee' last='Tichota'] has been around forever since she helped the Chieftains win the 2024 Class C-2 state championship when they upset Crofton. On Friday, Tichota proved that even on an off shooting night she can still have a huge impact on a basketball game. In Yutan's 55-36 win over Valentine, Tichota scored 11 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, dished out nine assists and had three steals. She did this all while going just 2-for-13 from the field. On the season, she leads the Chieftains with averages of 14.7 points, 7.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 3.5 steals.     On our list of must-see players in the Class D-1 field is sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1180570' first='Madyson' last='Mlady'] of unbeaten Bloomfield. The 6-footer is one of the most dynamic players in the class and proved it again on Friday night in a 74-45 win over Wauneta-Palisade in the district final. Mlady had 29 points on just 20 shots. She was 10-for-12 from the field (3-for-4 from beyond the arc) and 6-for-8 from the line. For good measure, she added 15 rebounds and six steals to her tally. Mlady has season averages of 20.6 points, 10.5 rebounds and 4.1 steals per game.     The 5-7 guard is another dynamic Class D player who is averaging a double-double this year for the Mustangs. A key player on S-E-M's 2023 state championship volleyball team, Arbuthnot scored 16 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in the Mustangs 49-41 upset of fourth-seeded Cambridge in the district final. Playing in the rugged Fort Kearney Conference (which sends four teams to state this week), the Mustangs have just two losses to Class D-2 teams and both were qualifiers -- Red Cloud and Silver Lake. Arbuthnot carries averages of 22.8 points, 13.0 rebounds and 2.9 assists.

The Nebraska girls state basketball tournament kicks off on Wednesday and runs through state championship Saturday (March 7) in Lincoln at Pinnacle Bank Arena and Bob Devaney Center. We will have coverage and top performers each day throughout the tournament. A perfect time to subscribe.