Fillmore Central's Emilie Krienert tries to keep the ball away
from St. Cecilia's Clare Hamburger Thursday in Geneva.
GENEVA — The Fillmore Central and St. Cecilia girls basketball teams are not in the same district. They're not even in the same class.
But none of that mattered to either team when they locked horns Thursday night at the Fillmore Central gymnasium.
Thursday's meeting between undefeated St. Cecilia and one-loss Fillmore Central had the feel of a state tournament game — from the raucous crowd to the intensity displayed on the court.
A matchup like that featuring two of the top girls basketball teams in all of central Nebraska figured to go down to the wire — and that's exactly what it did, before the Panthers prevailed 47-44 and handed the Hawkettes their first loss of the season.
After leading for most of the game, the Class C-1 Panthers (10-1) found themselves in a 40-36 hole with 4:31 remaining in the contest. Fillmore Central rallied for a 42-40 lead behind a pair of buckets from junior forward Rachel Hoarty and a jumper from junior Audrey Malone.
To read more, see Friday's Hastings Tribune or the Tribune e-edition.>>>
