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March 5, 1986
NORFOLK — Cedar Catholic survived an opening round scare in the B-4 District Tournament and went on to post convincing wins over two highly-regarded Columbus teams to gain a berth in the State Tournament at Lincoln.
Cedar, 20-2, opens Thursday in the Bob Devaney Sports Center at 10 a.m. against defending state Class B champion Elkhorn, 16-5. Should they win, the Lady Trojans would play in the Sports Center Friday against the winner of the Lexington (18-1) vs. Platteview (15-5) game.
Cedar had to come-from-behind in the first round on Feb. 25 to defeat a fiery Wayne team 45-32, then slugged out a 60-48 win over third-rated Columbus Lakeview and then hammered out a 45-42 win over fourth-ranked Columbus Scotus in the finals on Friday.
The Lady Trojans’ timing was impeccable as they played two of their best games in the semifinal and finals. And although the overall team effort was outstanding, it was the play of sophomore Paulette Neuhalfen coming off the bench that helped lift Cedar to the championship. She pumped in 14 points in the fourth period to help Cedar rally past Wayne. Against Columbus Lakeview, Neuhalfen had 21 points, including an 11-14 performance from the free throw line.
