Lady Warriors Fall In 49-48 Battle At Niobrara

After leading for most the game, the Lady Warriors were plagued by turnovers late in the game and eventually fell to Niobrara-Verdigre by one, 49-48.

Neligh-Oakdale started out strong, leading the Cougars 15-9 after the first quarter of play. The Lady Warriors started to widen the gap in the second, holding a 10-point lead midway through, but N-V clawed their way back within five before the half. A fairly even third quarter gave N-O a 41-35 lead heading into the final quarter. The Cougars forced several turnovers late in the game and outscored Neligh-Oakdale 14-7 to come out on top.

Paige Furstenau led the Lady Warriors with 16 points, followed by Bailey Frey with 9, Trinity Kurpgeweit and Jaclynn Hixson 8 each, Brooke Frey 5, and Rachel Higgins 2. Higgins and Bailey Frey each swiped 4 steals for N-O, and Frey and Furstenau both dished 5 assists on the night.

The Neligh-Oakdale girls and boys teams will travel to Wisner next week for their holiday tourney, Shootout on the Elkhorn. The girls tip off against Wisner-Pilger at 5:30 p.m. Dec. 28 in the north gym, and the boys take on the host team in the same gym at 7 p.m.