Sidney Lady Raiders are State Bound

Photo Courtesy: Donna Wiedeburg / Sidney Public Schools

SIDNEY - In a physical, back-and-forth battle in the B-5 District Final at the Cabela’s Athletic Facility, Sidney outlasted the Gretna Dragons 75-71 in overtime to punch its ticket to the state tournament for the 20th time in school history and the ninth time in the last 10 years.

Neither team led by more than seven points all night. Sidney’s largest advantage was four, while Gretna’s biggest lead was six in the opening quarter. There were only two lead changes, but the game featured numerous ties and momentum swings.

Gretna junior Ava McArtor set the tone early, pouring in nine first-quarter points to give the Dragons a 16-12 lead after one. McArtor stretched the Gretna advantage to 19-12 when she converted a three-point play with 7:07 remaining in the half.

Sidney responded with its best stretch of the night, using a 13-2 run to erase the deficit. Taylor Sprenger capped the surge with a three-pointer at the 2:14 mark. Seven different Lady Raiders scored in the second quarter as Sidney took a 28-26 lead into halftime.

Megan Marshall knocked down her second of five three-pointers to put Gretna back in front 31-28 with 6:35 to play in the third. Sidney regained the lead at 40-39 on a pair of free throws by Kierra Schrader with just over three minutes remaining in the period. Gretna answered to go up 43-40, but Sprenger drilled her fourth three of the night to tie the game at 43-43. The Lady Raiders carried a 54-48 lead into the fourth quarter.

Marshall again sparked the Dragons down the stretch, scoring nine fourth-quarter points, including her fifth three, to give Gretna a 63-60 edge with 1:45 left in regulation. Field goals by Jordan Schnell and Khloe Schrader put Sidney back on top 64-63 with a minute to go.

Marshall tied the game with a free throw with 43 seconds remaining but missed the second attempt, and neither team could score in the closing seconds as regulation ended knotted at 64-64.

In overtime, Maggie Miller accounted for all seven Gretna points. Kierra Schrader scored five points in the extra session, going 3-for-4 at the line, and Laraney Misegadis score four points, burying a critical three-pointer to seal the win.

Sidney improves to 19-5 with the victory, while Gretna falls to 14-10.

Kierra Schrader led four Lady Raiders in double figures with 19 points. Misegadis added 17, Sprenger finished with 12, and Reagan Nesbitt chipped in 10.

Gretna was led by Marshall’s 25 points, the 19 points from Maggie Miller and 16 from McArtor.

Sidney (19-5) enters the state tournament as the No. 5 seed and will face No. 4 seed Gretna East (20-5) on Thursday, March 5 at 3:15 p.m. CST (2:15 p.m. MST) at Pinnacle Bank Arena.