Twelve months ago, the Arlington High School girls basketball team earned the opportunity to win its first conference title since 2002 against Yutan.
It didn't go so well.
“We laid down and died last year,” senior Britt Nielsen said, bluntly. “And this year we just knew we needed to come out fighting and that's exactly what we did.”
Despite trailing the Chieftains by eight points going into the final period Saturday, the Eagles came back and won the championship game rematch against their Nebraska Capitol Conference (NCC) foes in overtime, 53-52. Nielsen tied it 45-45 at the end of regulation and scored the go-ahead points during extra time at Logan View High School.
“You might have thought we were down and out of it, but we just kept fighting back and, overall, just finished it with a win,” Nielsen said.
It was a big moment for AHS, which improved to 15-3 this season with the victory.
“There's just no words, really,” the senior added.
Before they'd get a chance to go for the win in overtime, the Eagles first had to erase their eight-point deficit across the last 8 minutes of regulation. Yutan started the fourth period with a bucket to stretch the advantage to double-digits, but coach Tashia Wolf's team already had it in its head that it would come back.
“We came out in that fourth quarter knowing we were going to do this,” said junior point guard Emme Timm. “So, we came out and made it happen.”
Macy Wolf sunk the first big 3-pointer of the comeback from well beyond the arc. It cut the Chieftains' lead to 41-36 and may have instilled some confidence in the team's long-range game.
“It's been a goal to hit five a game and we have not hit five a game,” Coach Wolf said, still unsure at the moment if her team had surpassed its goal during the NCC title matchup.
It had, finishing with nine 3s total.
Still down 43-38, though, Nielsen knocked down the second of what became her four 3-pointers on an assist by Timm. The guard, who scored 13 points herself, audibly told the senior to “hit it” when she passed the ball.
“I have confidence in Britt, no doubt. She's a veteran of the game,” the junior said. “She's been playing the game for so long and, as a point guard, you've just got to know your players.”
Timm knew Nielsen could hit the big shots against Yutan.
“Britt was able to step up and I had the confidence it was going in,” she said. “No doubt in my mind.”
AHS senior Libby Hegemann added a free throw down the stretch, but the Eagles still trailed 45-42 with less than 30 seconds remaining. Nielsen corrected that, though, with her third 3-pointer as Arlington and the Chieftains ultimately headed to overtime.
Momentum wasn't necessarily on the Eagles' side, however, as Yutan still led more often than not across the extra period. Macy Wolf had to the tie the game at 47-all with a bucket in transition before Timm's first and only 3 of the game evened the score at 50.
“I think they knew they just had to play with a lot of will-power and belief,” Coach Wolf said of her team's approach during crunch time.
Nielsen, in particular, was clutch. Down two points, 52-50, she hit the game-winning 3-pointer, but with time still remaining. The Chieftains had a shot.
The eventual NCC runner-up came close to going back ahead, too, but Yutan's close attempt on its last possession missed. Nielsen rebounded the ball with time still left, but the Chieftains, seemingly confused, failed to foul or even pressure the Eagles as the final seconds ticked off of the clock.
“I don't know if they knew they were down by one, but they just didn't come at any of us,” Nielsen said. “I was like, 'Pass it around, I guess.'”
The simple strategy worked and the Eagles won. In addition to Timm's 13 points, Nielsen scored a team-high 18. Macy Wolf scored eight, too, while senior Hailey O'Daniel notched the same total with two 3-point makes and another bucket during the first half.
Coach Wolf, however, complimented O'Daniel for her defensive play against Yutan's Mylee Tichota, who led the Chieftains with 18 points in defeat.
In the end, the Eagles celebrated the win with their peers from the boys basketball team — who loudly rooted for their team down the stretch — their families and with a new conference championship plaque. For the first time in more than two decades, the championship players celebrated with individual medals, too.
Pioneers finish 4th
The Fort Calhoun Pioneers, meanwhile, finished fourth in the NCC Tournament, dropping Saturday's third-place game at Logan View to Raymond Central.
The 15-4 Mustangs earned a slight, two-point lead during the first period, but added onto it from there, winning 61-35. Coach Eric Jones' Pioneers trailed just 29-17 at halftime, but struggled to hold onto the ball during the start of the third period, falling behind 43-21.
FCHS freshman Isabel Wray scored a bucket and two free throws to cut the Pioneers' deficit to less than 20 points, but the fourth-place finishers still trailed by 19 through three quarters even after Raeann Massey's basket.
Calhoun's Dehlia Hallberg and Massey scored the first two buckets of the fourth, too, but the 46-31 deficit was as close as the Pioneers would get. Massey led the team with 11 points, while Wray scored 10.
Kenzie TenEyck, meanwhile, led Raymond Central with 19 points during the Mustangs' 15th win of the season. Quincy Cotter added 16 as well.
AHS beats FCHS in semis
Notably, Arlington and Fort Calhoun met Friday to determine which Washington County team would play for the NCC title.
The Eagles won the tournament semifinal 49-29 at home, overcoming a 9-0 Pioneers run to end the first half. They did it with their own 17-0 streak during the third and into the fourth periods.
Coach Wolf couldn't credit any rah-rah speech she gave for the turnaround, though.
“Actually, when I went into the locker room, they told me, 'Don't worry. It's going to be fine,'” she said after the game. “'We're going to be fine. Everything's going to be fine. We're going to lock down, play better defense.'”
The Eagles certainly did after Massey took and made back-to-back 3-pointers from opposite corners to give the Pioneers all of the momentum going into the break. Arlington, in fact, didn't let its NCC rivals score again until just 5:58 remained during the fourth quarter.
“Good, hard-nosed defense, for sure,” Hegemann said when asked how the Eagles got it done. “A lot of communication and hard work.”
Coach Jones blamed unforced errors and himself for Calhoun's second-half drought, which shaped a three-point game into a 20-point Pioneers deficit. He said he tried too hard to draw up a play to fix his team's issues.
“I think we were just pressing too hard,” Jones said. “We wanted that one. We really wanted that and I think we just squeezed too hard.”
Coach Wolf wasn't overly impressed with Arlington's offensive execution in the second half, but it did the trick as her defense dug in. Macy Wolf scored the first two buckets of the third period before Hegemann, Nielsen and Valeria Carvajal all contributed to the Eagles' growing lead.
Timm later started the fourth quarter with another AHS bucket before capping the 17-point run with two free throws.
An Ansley Elofson basket finally cut off the home team's streak, but it wasn't nearly enough for Fort Calhoun. The 29 points the Pioneers managed against Arlington were eight lower than their previous low this season.
“They were determined,” Coach Wolf said of her team. “They wanted it tonight.”
The 20-point victory clinched the Eagles' second-straight trip to the NCC title game.
“We're ready to be back there and this time we have a bigger goal,” Hegemann said.
AHS lost in 2024, but came through with an overtime win a year later.
NCC BASKETBALL LINE SCORES
Saturday
Arlington 53, Yutan 52, OT
YHS (12-5) 9 11 17 8 — 52
AHS (15-3) 10 5 14 16 8 — 53
Scoring: AHS — Britt Nielsen 18, Emme Timm 13, Macy Wolf 8, Hailey O'Daniel 8, Valeria Carvajal 3, Libby Hegemann 3.
YHS — Mylee Tichota 18, Amelia Dieckman 15, Allison Kirchmann 6, Audrey Dieckman 5, Jenna Trent 4, Jersey Siske 3, Addi Jones 3.
Raymond Central 61, Fort Calhoun 35
FCHS (13-5) 9 8 10 8 — 35
RC (15-4) 11 18 17 15 — 61
Scoring: FCHS — Raeann Massey 11, Isabel Wray 10, Ansley Elofson 6, Ari Nelson 2, Dehlia Hallberg 2, Maelie Nelson 2, Kamie Nelson 2.
RC — Kenzie TenEyck 19, Quincy Cotter 16, Julia Schultz 11, Alexa Otto 5, Jacey Hofper 5, Izzy Lubischer 3, Morgan Kliment 2, Emma Dukesherer 2.
Friday
Arlington 49, Fort Calhoun 29
FCHS (13-4) 10 12 0 7 — 29
AHS (14-3) 20 5 13 11 — 49
Scoring: AHS — Timm 15, Nielsen 14, Wolf 9, Carvajal 6, Hegemann 5.
FCHS — Maelie Nielson 8, Massey 8, Ella Bouwman 5, Elofson 4, Ari Nelson 2, Jovi Grenier 2.
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