The Twin Valley League semi-final match-ups wrapped up for both the girls and boys tonight, and first-place and third-place games have been set for tomorrow. All games nearly had runaway winners today, with Hanover boys and Axtell boys taking dominant wins over Clifton-Clyde and Doniphan West. On the girls' side, Centralia and Linn beat Blue Valley and Axtell to move on to their respective side’s championship tournament. 

Centralia over Blue Valley 45-11 (Girls)

The Centralia girls got our broadcast started with a defensive and offensive bang, outscoring Blue Valley in the first quarter 18-2. It was 22-2 before Blue Valley would get their next points, but would be down 26-5 at the half to the Panthers. Tava Gibbs had nine rebounds in the first half for Centralia, while Hayden Kramer led with 11 points in the half for the Panthers. 

Centralia forced over 35 turnovers in the game and came away with the semi-final over Blue Valley 45-11, not allowing more than three points in any of the given quarters. Hayden Kramer finished with 20 points, four threes, three assists, and five steals. Tava Gibbs led Centralia with 11 rebounds and scored eight points. 

Axtell over Doniphan West 66-32 (Boys)

The Axtell boys had a similar go in the first quarter against Doniphan West, like our girls' game, with Axtell coming out of the first quarter up 16-2. Axtell hit three threes in the first quarter and added five more threes in the second quarter to go up 35-13 at the half. Wyatt Detweiler had three threes in the first half alone, while both Landon Schmitz and Joe Lybarger weighed in with two apiece

Axtell would end the game with a running clock in the fourth quarter, with one of the most exciting parts of the second half coming from the return of Logan Sandmann onto the floor, scoring two points and snagging one board in the fourth quarter. Axtell would end the game 66-32 with four players ending with double-digit scores, led by Wyatt Detweiler with fifteen. Joe Lybarger finished with four threes on the game for fourteen points, while Schmitz also finished with fourteen. The Mustangs were led by Dustin Veach with seven. Despite losing, this will be the first final four appearance for Doniphan West since 2018 in the TVL tournament. 

Linn over Axtell 47-36 (Girls)

The Linn Lady Bulldogs came out strong against Axtell, leading 11-4 after the first quarter and 24-13 at the end of the first half. Both teams matched up a lot statistically after the first half, except for Linn hitting more shots, and Axtell struggled more with turnovers. Unfortunately, in the first half, Maggie Strathman had to come out to the bench after taking a hit to the hand, remaining on the bench for the entire second half for Axtell. Linn was led by Grethen Bott in the first half with 10 points and four rebounds, while Linn had six steals in the half. 

Axtell would compete in the third quarter, drawing the game 27-24 with a three-pointer from Avery Buessing. However, with Maggie out for the second half and Natalee fouling out in the fourth as well, Axtell was down two of their top players and forwards for the final minutes of the game. Linn would stretch the lead to end the game 47-36, and despite the loss for Axtell, they made it to the semi-final for the first time since 2015 with a chance to now go and win the third-place match. Buessing finished with quite a game for Axtell, with nine points all coming in the second half, including two three-pointers, with Katelynn Detweiler also finishing with nine points. 

KMZA Broadcast Schedule Tomorrow for 3rd Place and Championship Games

1:00 - Boys 3rd Place - Doniphan West vs Clifton Clyde

2:30 - Girls 3rd Place - Blue Valley vs Axtell

4:00 - Boys Championship - Axtell vs Hanover

5:30 - Girls Championship - Linn vs Centralia

Thank you to all of our sponsors who make this TVL tournament coverage possible!

M & R Auto Parts

Blue Valley Technologies

Koch & Company

Wanklyn Oil Company

Elmers Repair

First National Bank Frankfort

Highland Community College

SBS Insurance

Bendena State Bank & The Bank of Highland

Bruna Implement

B & D Buildings Onaga Pharmacy

Helena Agri Enterprises

Community Healthcare System

Farmers State Bank Onaga

Hiawatha IMprement

Midwest Crop Insurance-Seneca

First Heritage Bank