Nemaha Central and Royal Valley split their games on Tuesday night with the Thunder girls winning 55-38 and the Panther boys winning in overtime 48-47.

The win for the Thunder girls gives them the Big 7 league title outright. It's their sixth consecutive league title.

In the girls’ game, the Thunder stayed in control the entire way. Sophomore forward Cali Honeyman started off with a solid first quarter with five points to go up 15-4. She would finish with seven.

Sophomore guard Cami Dalinghaus scored six points for the Thunder in the second quarter to keep their foot on the throttle. They would go up 25-11 at the break.

Thunder senior forwards Addy Holthaus and Ella Larkin combined for 14 points in the third quarter to get the lead up to 20 going into the fourth quarter.

The Panthers wouldn’t go away, however, as senior guard Kennedy Bryan had 12 points in the second half and 7 in the fourth quarter to outscore the Thunder 17-14 in the final frame, but it wasn’t enough to get them back in the game.

Bryan led Royal Valley in scoring with 17 and sophomore guard Samantha Klotz finished with nine points.

Holthaus led Nemaha Central in points with 18 making her the “Player to Bank On” brought to you by Farmers State Bank.

Dalinghaus and Larkin both scored ten points in the victory as well.

In the boys’ game, Royal Valley jumped on Nemaha Central out of the gate with senior forward Preston Ross scoring six points in the first quarter. Senior guard Treyson Murata also had five to give them a 15-8 lead.

The Thunder offense woke up in the second quarter with senior small forward Cooper Hajek scoring eight points. This helped Nemaha Central take a 22-21 lead at the half.

The game was back and forth the rest of the game with both teams getting leads only to lose them minutes later.

The fourth quarter was low-scoring for both teams with the Thunder outscoring Royal Valley 7-4. Ross was the only Panther to score in the quarter. Thunder junior forward Abe Hilbert dominated in the paint and helped Nemaha Central stay in the game with some big-time baskets late. Royal Valley had a good look at the end of regulation to win at the buzzer but couldn’t get their shot to drop which sent the game into overtime.

In overtime, Hilbert continued his dominance with a couple of shots early in the extra period. However, Royal Valley junior guard Aidan McKinsey countered with a three-pointer and a couple of free throws to take the lead.

Thunder senior guard Wade Leonard made up for a free throw miss late in the fourth quarter with a pair of makes to retake the lead. With less than a minute left, it was Panther senior guard Daniel Coleman who made the dagger with a 15-footer. Nemaha Central had a chance to win, but Leonard couldn’t get his three to drop at the horn.

McKinsey finished with 11 points including his heroics in overtime making him the “Player to Bank On” by Farmers State Bank. Ross led the Panthers in scoring with 14 points.

Hilbert led Nemaha Central in scoring with 18 points. Senior guard Gavin Cain had 11 points and Hajek finished with ten.