The Nemaha Central Middle School girls basketball team traveled to Jeff West on Thursday, November 17. This was the second time the Thunder encountered Jeff West. Only 3 games were played since Jeff West didn’t have enough players for 4 full games. There was a seventh grade A-team, eighth grade A-team and a combined seventh and eighth grade B-team game played.
First to start off the night, the seventh grade A-team stepped on the court. They started the night well scoring 9 points against the Tigers. At the end of the first quarter, the score was 9-0. The girls knew what they had to do in the second quarter to increase their lead. They outscored their opponents again to make the halftime score 23-10.
The Thunder was ready to go in the second half. They added a few more baskets in the third quarter to make the score 29-12. In the final quarter, the Thunder played hard even though they were getting tired. They scored 3 points while the Tigers scored 1 point. The final score was 32-13 and the seventh grade A-team started out the night with a win.
The next matchup was the eighth grade A-team. The Thunder team was ready to beat the Tigers in a good game. The first quarter was a battle as the game was close, but the quarter ended with the Thunder leading 6-5. In the second quarter, the Thunder team worked hard to increase their score. The score at halftime was still tight with the Thunder leading 13-12.
After a short halftime break, the Lady Thunder got back out on the court with a mindset to win. They played aggressively adding 8 points to their score, while the Tigers added 4. At the end of the third quarter, the score was 21-16. Entering the fourth quarter the Thunder was ahead by 5 points. The Thunder team played aggressively in the fourth quarter to keep the lead and capture the win with a score of 26-23.
“It was amazing to see all my teammates work together. We were able to come out with the win,” stated Alexis Tangeman.
The last game of the night was the combined B-team game. The Thunder team was outscored in the first quarter, 2-7. The Thunder wanted to catch up to the Tigers but were unable to score in the second quarter making the halftime score 2-9.
The Thunder had a great third quarter, scoring 7 points and holding the Tigers. The score was tied up by the end of the third quarter at 9 apiece. The Lady Thunder played hard in the final quarter and ended the game with a victory with a score of 15-13.
“I think we improved a lot since last week,” stated Alexsys Lewis.
The Lady Thunder had a great night with all 3 teams finishing with a victory. The season is winding down, but that won’t stop the Thunder from working hard and improving their skills.
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