Wynot girls win defensive battle with Falls City SH
LINCOLN — The Wynot Lady Blue Devils met up with a very familiar foe in Friday’s state semifinal game at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.
The Lady Devils matched up against the second-seeded Falls City Sacred Heart Irish. The two teams have a rich state tournament history. They split when they met for the state title the last two years with Wynot winning in 2019 and the Irish taking the 2017 contest. Wynot holds a slight 4-3 edge against the Irish since beginning their almost yearly state battle back in 2010.
The Lady Blue Devils got off to a sluggish start in the first half but their full court defensive pressure gave the Lady Irish fits in the second half as Wynot was able to advance to the championship game with the 37-27 win.
The Blue Devils were led by Katelyn Heine and Karley Heimes with 10 points each. Shaelee Planer contributed eight points and six rebounds for the game.
Falls City Sacred Heart was led by Erison Vonderschmit who took scoring honors with 12 points and Rachel Magdanz finished with a six-point effort.
The first half was a game of runs. Falls City Sacred Heart would go on a 10-0 run to start the first quarter. The Lady Irish got a pair of buckets by Olivia Eickhoff and a bucket by Danielle Bippes along with some freethrows to fuel the run. Kendra Pinkelman came off the bench to hit a lone 3-pointer late in the period, as Wynot trailed 10-4 after the opening frame.
In the second quarter, Wynot ripped off a 10-3 run of their own. Karley Heimes led the charge with four points and Katelyn Heine hit a floater in the lane. The Irish got their three points from the freethrow line and were held without a field goal as Wynot got back in the game, trailing 13-10 at halftime.
This game was all about defense and the Lady Devils were better at it than the Irish.
Wynot held Sacred Heart to just one field goal each in the third and fourth quarter. In the third period, Wynot opened up a 26-18 advantage with a 16-5 run.
Katelyn Heine led the way with her seven points and Karley Heimes drained a pair of 3-pointers to help with the scoring outburst.
In the final quarter, the Irish got a field goal by Rachel Magdanz and 7-8 freethrow shooting by Erison Vonderschmit.
Wynot did not hit a fieldgoal in the frame, but Shaelee Planer went 5-6 and Kaitlyn Heimes went 2-3 from the charity stripe as Wynot would earn the 37-27 win and advance to play for the state title.
SCORING Wynot- Katelyn Heine 10, Karley Heimes 10, Shaelee Planer 8, Kendra Pinkelman 3, Emersyn Sudbeck 2, Noelle Wieseler 1. FCSH — Erison Vonderschmit 12, Rachel Mandanz 6, Olivia Eickhoff 4, Danelle Bippes 4, MacKinzie Witt 1.