Prep girls basketball: Southwest holds off Norfolk at A-3 districts - Lincoln Journal Star

FREMONT — It’s not quite March, but Lincoln Southwest girls basketball coach Lis Brenden is glad the madness didn't start early Tuesday night.

With her team nursing a slim 54-53 lead over Norfolk with less than 4 seconds to play in a Class A-3 district semifinal at Fremont High School, Southwest's McKenna Dodd stepped to the line for a pair of free throws. After she made the first, Norfolk called a timeout to draw up a last-second, desperation heave.

But when Dodd missed the second free throw, teammate Marysa Wilkinson came up with the offensive rebound and the Panthers never got a chance to use the play. The seventh-ranked Silver Hawks survived with a 55-53 victory.

“At this point, everyone’s thinking win and move on, whether it’s a 40-point win or a one-point win,” Brenden said. “We practice those (late-game free-throw) situations and our kids knew what was at stake. They stepped up and I’m proud of them for that.”

Southwest kept Norfolk star Jaycee Bradley in check in the first half, and led by nine at one point in the second quarter. Norfolk never let up and, once Bradley heated things up in the third quarter, managed to tie the game entering the fourth quarter.

Three huge buckets by Southwest’s Abby Meader built Southwest a 47-42 lead early in the fourth quarter and, this time, the Silver Hawks held their advantage. Despite Bradley’s game-high 19 points, Norfolk couldn’t overcome six late free throws to pull the upset.

“I thought our girls executed exactly what we wanted them to do; it’s just tough to keep (Southwest) down for four quarters,” Norfolk coach Bruce Shively said. “I was tremendously proud of our girls’ effort to go down to the wire with them.”

Meader finished with 13 points to lead Southwest and was joined in double figures by Wilkinson (12 points) and Dodd (10). Brenden praised her team for sharing the ball, stepping up with big shots and playing enough defense to stay in the lead despite scoring just 21 points in the first half.

Wilkinson used her 6-foot frame to grab offensive boards and stymie Norfolk, which doesn’t have a player taller than 5-10. She will face a tougher test in the district final Thursday against Fremont star Jessica Shepard with a spot in the state tournament on the line.

While Brenden would have loved a less stressful finish, her team has now won five of six and is an upset away from Pinnacle Bank Arena.

“I would have loved to see McKenna make that free throw, but Marysa is an excellent rebounder and she wanted that ball and got it,” Brenden said. “And yes, we were happy not to have to see some desperation play that could have knocked us out.”

Fremont 80, Lincoln High 44

A game-high 20 points from Jessica Shepard were enough to see host Fremont past Lincoln High in district A-3.

The No. 4 Tigers stormed out to a 40-20 halftime lead and were never in danger against the Links.

Rylie Cascio Jensen made a number of plays in support of the 6-3 Shepard, totaling 13 points and making a number of strong passes. Fremont was able to rest several players and involve most of its bench down the stretch — 11 girls scored for Fremont while only six did so for Lincoln High.

Senior Mara Hollamon led the Links with 14 points. Lincoln High finished the season with a record of 2-21.

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