Nemaha Central’s girls’ basketball team started the night by getting a home win against Centralia by a final score of 54-37 on Friday night.

Centralia started the game with a solid start leading 10-6 about halfway through the first quarter. The Thunder would then go on a run and hold on to their lead the rest of the way.

They did so playing great defense as they only allowed eight points in the second quarter, 11 points in the second quarter and eight points in the fourth quarter.

As for their offense, they scored 13 points in both the first and second quarters and 17 points in the third quarter.

The Thunder had a trio of girls with 10+ points in Friday’s win. Senior Addy Holthaus had 16 points, senior Ella Larkin had 15 and sophomore Reagan Gerety had 12.

Holthaus’s solid performance made her the Farmer’s State Bank “Player to Bank On”.

Centralia’s superstar sophomore Oen Deters led the way for the Panthers in scoring with 19 points. Senior Jayden Wells had 11 points as well.

The Centralia boys’ team defeated Nemaha Central on the road Friday night in a closely contested matchup by a final score of 42-39.

It was a back-and-forth contest with both teams playing solid defense. Centralia junior Paxton Bowers nailed a three-pointer with less than a minute left to take the lead, which ended up being the game-winning basket. Nemaha Central had a chance to force overtime at the horn, but their three-point attempt was off the mark.

The boys’ game saw a more well-balanced scoring attack from both teams with a lot of players getting on the scoreboard.

Nemaha Central had a total of eight players find the bottom of the net, and Centralia had six total scorers.

Leading the way in scoring for the Thunder was senior Gavin Cain with 11 points. The Panthers’ leading scorer was Bowers with 14 points.

Bowers’s winning performance earned him the title of the Farmer’s State Bank “Player to Bank On”.

Centralia makes their home debut this Tuesday against Cair Paravel. As for Nemaha Central, they go on the road Tuesday to St. Mary’s.