N-O Girls Fall, Boys Dominate Ewing In Season Opener

It was two very different results for the Neligh-Oakdale girls and boys Thursday night to start the season.

Turnovers plagued the Lady Warriors as they fell, 35-9, and the Neligh-Oakdale boys rolled to a dominating 77-31 win as the teams opened their seasons in Ewing on Thursday night.

In the girls game, the Warriors struggled to find the bottom of the net, going just five for 42 from the floor. They played stout defense for much of the night, holding the Tigers to an average of nine points per quarter. Unfortunately, Neligh-Oakdale was able to muster just four points in the first quarter, four in the second, and one point the entire second half. Turnovers were a killer for the girls as Ewing forced Neligh-Oakdale into 27 turnovers, halting any offensive attack. 

Kinsley Klabenes led the Warriors on the night with four points on two of 11 shooting. Heather Pellatz hauled in four rebounds and led the Warrior defense with six steals. 

In the boys game, it was quite a different story. The Warriors charged out to a commanding 29-10 lead at the end of the first quarter and never looked back, eventually holding the Tigers to a scoreless fourth quarter of play. Neligh-Oakdale shot an impressive 63 percent from the floor and 53 percent from three-point range. 

Grant White, Tyson Belitz and Alex Kerkman all scored in double figures for the Warriors. White led the charge with 25 points on nine of 13 shooting, including hitting five shots from beyond the arc. Belitz and Kerkman each added 14 points on the night. Belitz was also an expert at finding the open man all night, racking up eight assists to lead the team. 

Both teams will be back in action Friday night as they travel to Tilden to take on Elkhorn Valley.