Emotions were high in the aftermath of North Platte coming up short 61-40 in the Class 2 State Quarterfinals against Skyline on March 1.
DEARBORN – Needing one more win to make it to the Class 2 Girls’ Basketball Final Four, North Platte (24-6) ran into the No. 1 ranked team in the state, Skyline (28-2), on March 1.
In what was a rematch from the 2014 Class 2 State Quarterfinals, North Platte once again fell short against Skyline, losing 61-40. The matchup a decade prior was a five-point win by the Lady Tigers and the rematch was tight early on.
With three ties and seven lead changes in the opening six minutes, Skyline drilled a three with 2:15 on the clock to go up 15-12 and North Platte trailed for the rest of the game. Allyson Smith was huge in the first half with six of the Lady Panthers’ 14 first quarter points and 13 of the 26 first-half points.
North Platte sophomore Allyson Smith scored 13 of her team-high 15 points in the first half of the Class 2 State Quarterfinals.
“Allyson was amazing, she’s done this all year and with the better teams we play, the more she steps up, the better,” North Platte head girls’ basketball coach Ryan Davis said. “This was the best team we played all year, and she was at her best, so I’m proud of her.”
Trailing 19-14 after eight minutes of play, the Lady Panthers had some struggles at the charity stripe. They missed eight of the first 13 free throws until Brianna DeBord shot 2-of-3 with three seconds left in the half to make the score 30-26 after being fouled on a 3-point shot.
“You’re going to have some ifs ands and buts; maybe we could have had the lead (at halftime), but I was really proud of how we played,” Davis said.
Kenedie Summers was one of two seniors who nearly led North Platte back to state for the first time since 2012.
The second half was a different story after the opening 90 seconds where Lindsay Ramsey and Kenedie Summers both responded with a layup after the Lady Tigers did the same on their side. In the final 6:30 of the third quarter, Skyline outscored North Platte 16 to three.
A pivotal sequence started after Smith made a layup on top of the 4-minute mark when the Lady Tigers hit back-to-back threes from opposite corners to make the score 46-32. Camryn Kersten made a free throw with 1:30 left for the final North Platte points of the frame and Skyline beat the buzzer to go up 50-33.
“I thought we played excellent in the first half. They’re the best team we’ve played in many years, they played really well there in the third quarter and it was a long time before they missed a shot. They were able to get to their right hands and got by us a little bit. We were switching defenses and couldn’t find one that worked, but our girls fought the whole way and I thought we came out aggressive planning to win the game,” Davis said.
North Platte guard Lindsay Ramsey finished with eight points, nine rebounds, one block and one steal in the loss to Skyline.
Summers and Ramsey fouled out down the stretch, while Smith and Makenna Cartwright nearly did as well with four fouls each. The gym was shaking with few empty seats and an electric environment in the win-or-go-home postseason contest.
“I’m proud of our two senior girls’ leadership here, Makenna and Kenedie. I think part of that is you have likable kids all the way through, and that the community comes and supports them is awesome. It’s the best atmosphere I’ve been a part of, for our community and our student section to show up like that,” Davis said.
Smith ended the day with 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting and Ramsey finished with eight points, nine rebounds, one block and one steal. Cartwright scored six points off the bench and Summers had five points as the seniors ended their careers on a high note, nearly leading North Platte back to state for the first time since 2012.