103.9 KNZA Broadcast - Jeff West at Nemaha Central --- Girls | Boys

Two undefeated and three state ranked teams tipped off the 2018 portion of the high school basketball campaign on Tuesday night in Seneca and met for the second time this season as the Jeff West girls avenged a loss with a thrilling 52-45 overtime comeback and the Nemaha Central boys improved to 7-0 with a resounding 47-30 triumph. 

GIRLS = Jeff West 52, Nemaha Central 45 in Overtime

It was a slow start with following the holiday break with both state ranked girls teams committing six turnovers in the first quarter and struggling to score the basketball.  However, in the second quarter, #1 ranked (3A) Nemaha Central turned up the pressure defense and got going in transition using a 19-3 run to take a 25-12 advantage.  Jeff West scored the final five points to close within 25-17 at halftime.  The Tigers got within three points a couple times in the third quarter but still trailed 34-27 entering the final frame.  Zoe Holthaus took a charge then scored a bucket on the other end to tie the game at 39 with under four minutes remaining and Jeff West took their first lead since 9-6 with a fury of nine points from Mariah Murdie to go up 43-42 before Murdie fouled out.  Laura Macke was 4-4 at the foul line after making the first free throw to tie the game with 30 second left, but missed the second charity toss and both teams came up empty on the final possession in regulation.  

Jeff West got a bucket from Holthaus to start overtime and would never trail again as they hit seven of eight foul-shots in the extra period and Nemaha was 0-3 at the line in OT while being outscored 9-2 to close the game.  Jeff West (5-2 overall and 4-2 Big 7) outscored Nemaha in every quarter except the second, including a 16-9 fourth frame and overcame 27 turnovers in the road victory.  Aaliyah Negonsott had 17 points and Jordan Negonsott had a season high 15, including a trio of three's and went 6-7 at the foul line all in the fourth quarter and overtime to help secure the win.  Murdie finished with 11 points all in the second half after picking up her third foul at the end of the first quarter.  Jacy Dalinghaus led Nemaha Central (6-1) with 14 points while Macke scored 9 of her 12 in the dominating second quarter.  Ashley Hammes added 11 points for Nemaha Central who had 22 turnovers and missed some quick shots in rushed offensive possessions when the lead was slipping away in the fourth quarter.                                                                                                     

BOYS = Nemaha Central 47, Jeff West 30

The Nemaha Central boys (7-0) outscored Jeff West in every quarter and used a dominating advantage in rebounding and especially second and third chance points to post their sixth win by at least 17 points this season.  The Thunder got a lot of high percentage shots including Matt Baumgartner and Camron Feldkamp who each scored 10 points in a balanced effort. Freshman, Josh Broxterman had a game-high 14 points for the Tigers, but no one else had more than five points in their lowest scoring game of the year. Jeff West fell to 3-4 overall and 3-3 in Big 7 play, struggling to get high percentage shots against a tough Thunder defense.

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Aaliyah and Jordan Negonsott for Jeff West and Matt Baumgartner of Nemaha Central