The Sabetha girls and boys basketball teams held true to their # 1 seeds and defended their home court on Saturday night by sweeping rival Nemaha Central in the Sub-State Championship games to advance to State in Hutchinson!  

GIRLS = Sabetha 40, Nemaha Central 30

The third meeting and rubber-match was much closer than the final score as neither team led by more than six points in the first three quarters and the game was tied at 21 at halftime.  Sabetha however, took a 29-27 advantage into the fourth quarter and held the Lady Thunder to only two total field goals in the second half before  pulling away in the fourth quarter 11-3 for the victory.  Both teams struggled to hit 50 percent of their free throws and no treys were made in the second half after Sabetha hit four and Nemaha three in the first two quarters.  

Rhianna Becker, one of just two seniors on the team along with Heidi Heiniger, scored 8 of her 10 points in the second half and scored a breakaway layup and added two free throws with :30 left to finish the Sabetha win.  Alexis McAfee hit three triples in the first half including back-to-back bombs in the first quarter to give the Jays an 11-10 lead.  McAfee finished with 11 points while Mariah Huneke and Emily Meyer each added 6 inside and Taryn Schuette chipped in 5 as Sabetha improved to 20-3 on the season and returns to 3A State in Hutchinson for the second time in the last three years.  

Nemaha Central got 13 points from Rachel Baumgartner but the Thunder went ice cold behind the arc in the second half.  Kennedy McKernan hit two treys in the first quarter but finished with 6 points while leading scorer, Jaci Swart also didn't score after 4 points in the opening frame.  Nemaha, who had won 8 straight, ends their first season as the Lady Thunder with a 17-6 record.   

BOYS = Sabetha 58, Nemaha Central 49

The Bluejay boys came out smoking hot with five three-pointers in the first quarter to jump to a 23-10 lead and also scored the first 8 points of the game.  Sabetha upped the margin to 15 points at halftime and led 39-22 entering the fourth quarter.  Nemaha hit seven baskets beyond the arc in the fourth quarter but could only pull within nine for the final margin.  

Tristan Allen scored all 12 of his points in the fourth quarter and Trent Schulte hit four treys to score 12 as well in the game.  Devin Henry added five but the power inside attack of Luke Holthaus and Abe Elder were held to just 6 total points (season average combined 23) as Sabetha's zone defense quieted the Thunder.  Nemaha hit a season high 12 trifecta's with 9 of those in the second half trying to come back before their first season as the Thunder also ended with a 17-6 record. 

Sabetha got 17 points from Kegan Schumann and Brett Plattner added 14, including three early treys and 9 points in the first stanza to get the Bluejays out to the early lead and relieve some pressure. Kellen Russell added 9 points and Calder Keehn had 8 as Sabetha improved to 22-1 with their 12th consecutive victory.  The Jays return to 3A State in Hutch for the first time since a runner-up finish in 2009.