Lady Bears reach SubDistrict final, but drop title game to No. 1 seed

OAKLAND — Laurel-Concord-Coleridge traveled south to Oakland for the C2-6 SubDistrict Tournament Feb. 13 and 15.

The Lady Bears came into the tournament as the No. 2 seed based on Nebraska School Activities Association power points and got through the opening round with a 55-47 win over Homer before bowing out of the tournament in the finals against Oakland-Craig, 57-40.

Against the second group of Lady Knights, Oakland-Craig, the Lady Knights bolted to a big lead after the opening frame, 23-8 and outscored the Lady Bears in every quarter except the third on the way to the 17-point win.

Laurel-Concord-Coleridge did manage to win the third quarter, 13-6, but trailed 36-17 at the halftime buzzer.

Mallory Eriksen paced the Lady Bear offense with 17 points, Rena Rasmussen added a dozen and Kaida Eriksen tossed in six.

Rasmussen completed a double-double after pulling down 13 missed shots, Lainey Schutte grabbed seven, Mallory Eriksen had six and Tali Erwin had five.

Schutte handed out four assists and registered a couple of steals and a block.

Against the first group of Lady Knights, Homer, Laurel-Concord-Coleridge outscored the Lady Knights in the first and last quarters 18-10 in each frame.

The teams played even in the second and Homer won the third, but the Lady Bears advanced to the finals by the 55-47 final score.

Rasmussen led the way with 24 points including 9-for-17 shooting from the field and a 6-for-8 performance from the charity stripe.

The talented freshman averaged just under 17 points per game in her inaugural campaign and just over eight rebounds per contest.

Erwin added 11, Mallory Eriksen seven and Kaida Eriksen tacked on six.

Rasmussen ruled the boards with 13 rebounds to record a double-double, Schutte swiped seven. Mallory Eriksen added six and Erwin pulled down five.

Schutte dished out four assists to lead the Lady Bears in that category again, and joined Rasmussen with a couple of steals.

Oakland-Craig will move on to take on Freeman in the C2-8 District Final to be played in Oakland Feb. 23 at 7 p.m.

The Lady Bears fell just short of qualifying for a district spot based on power points.

LCC 8 9 13 10 - 40 O-C 23 13 6 15 - 57 LAUREL-CONCORD-COLERIDGE (15-9): Tali Erwin 0-2 0-2 0; Mallory Eriksen 7-15 3-4 17; Lainey Schutte 0-3 0-0 0; Carlie Kvols 1-3 1-2 3; Rena Rasmussen 4-7 4-7 12; Kaida Eriksen 2-10 1-2 6; Toni Thompson 1-1 0-0 2; Delaney Johnson 0-2 0-0 0. OAKLAND-CRAIG (15-5): Briar Ray 8-11 2-5 19; Adi Rennerfeldt 5-13 5-5 18; Mia Thomsen 1-2 0-0 2; Sonya Gudzinski 2-8 0-0 7; Valerie Lierman 0-2 0-0 0; Bailey Pelan 2-5 0-0 5; Morgan Ray 2-7 2-4 8. Homer 10 11 16 10 - 47 LCC 18 11 8 18 - 55

HOMER (9-10): Lily Harris 4-9 1-4 9; Jocelyn Hightree 1-10 4-4 6; Tori Walker 1-8 0-0 2; Alexandra Albrecht 9-20 0-0 22; Sam Overgaard 0-1 0-0 0; Anna Harris 1-4 0-0 2; Janessa Overgaard 1-4 4-6 6.

LAUREL-CONCORD-COLERIDGE: Erwin 4-8 0-2 11; M. Eriksen 2-5 3-4 7; Schutte 2-8 0-2 4; Kvols 0-2 3-4 3; Rasmussen 9-17 6-8 24; K. Eriksen 2-11 0-0 6.