Warriors Split Road Games With Madison On Saturday

The Warrior teams went 1-1 on the road in Madison on Saturday.

A buzzer-beater by Madison edged out the Neligh-Oakdale girls 46-44, while the boys picked up a 58-47 win over the Dragons after playing a strong fourth quarter.

In the girls game, Madison went on a 9-0 run before N-O put up any points on the board, giving them an 18-8 lead at the end of the first quarter. They extended their lead to 25-12 by halftime. The Lady Warriors fought back in the second half, but the early deficit was too much to overcome.

"Madison really got off to a hot start and shot the ball well," Coach Ron Beacom said. "We didn't bring the same intensity level that they did to start the game. Even with digging the early hole though, the girls really fought back hard and played a really good second half. We had the game tied twice and got beat on an 18 foot buzzer beater."

Kinsley Klabenes led N-O with 20 points, followed by Bailey Frey with 9, Danae Smith and Jayda Chance with 6 each, Alexis Jensen 2 and Whitney Beacom 1.

Girls scores by quarters:
N-O          8    4  14  18 - 44
Madison  18   7   8   13 - 46

In boys action, Madison came out firing 3-pointers, giving them a 17-10 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Warriors were able to find some answers and came back to get an 11-point victory.

"We really got smacked in the face that first quarter with them hitting 5 three pointers, but give credit to the kids they adjusted the defense and we played the matchups that allowed us to come out on top," Coach Frank Gade said.

Alex Kerkman and Tyson Belitz led the Warriors with 16 points each, followed by Chris Bentley with 14, Pepper Marchant 7 and Grant White 5.

Boys scores by quarters:
N-O        10  14  12  22  - 58
Madison 17  10  10  10  - 47