The rivalry was renewed Tuesday night with a battle of ranked teams fighting for the top spot a top the Big 7 League.  Both Bluejays squads knocked off Nemaha Central to improve to 8-0 on the season in front of a packed house at Sabetha High School.  

GIRLS = Sabetha 45, Nemaha Central 34
Nemaha jumped out to a 9-2 advantage thanks to 7 early points inside the paint by Rachel Baumgartner and the Thunder led 21-12 late in the second quarter with more rebounds and second chance points.  Yet, Sabetha went on a 9-0 run to close the first half and tie the game at 21.  The Lady Jays adjusted to a zone defense in the second half and evened the battle in the paint and on the boards while speeding up the game and scoring in transition.  Sabetha took their first lead of the night 29-28 with two and a half minutes to play in the third quarter and never gave up the lead as they capped a 12-0 run to take a 33-28 advantage.  

The Jays got 16 points from Alexis McAfee and 10 big points plus a huge emotional lift from sophomore, Emily Meyer, off the bench.  Meyer battled inside and scored 8 points in the second half to earn Citizens State Bank and Trust Company of Hiawatha "Player to Bank On" honors.  Mariah Huneke added 8 points and Sabetha improved to 8-0 with their closest contest of the year and took a two-game lead in the Big 7.  Baumgartner scored 17 to pace the Lady Thunder, but no other player had more than 5 as Nemaha Central fell to 5-2 in league play at 5-3 overall while making only one field goal in the fourth quarter.

BOYS = Sabetha 58, Nemaha Central 50
The first half was the story in this game as Sabetha built an early 17-10 advantage and maintained a 34-25 lead at halftime.  Kellen Russell hit a pair of treys and scored 8 points in the second quarter before finishing with a team-high 16 in the game.  Calder Keehn added 14 and Kegan Schumann chipped in 11 while Brett Plattner added 8 in Sabetha's only single digit win of the season and the Jays made 9 of 11 free throws to help seal the victory.  

# 3 ranked Nemaha Central, battled a double-digit defecit in the second half but clawed within 42-40 before # 5 ranked Sabetha closed the third quarter on a 6-0 run.  Luke Holthaus had a moster double-double game for the Thunder with a season high 19 points while Devin Henry and Abe Elder each scored 10 before Nemaha Central fell to 7-1 on the season.     

The two teams will meet again on February 24th in Seneca, and perhaps, like last year, in 3A Sub State at Sabetha in March.