Arlington High School girls basketball coach Tashia Wolf told her team not to let Thursday's upset home loss to 8-11 Fremont Bergan fester.
The Eagles needed to move on.
“I'm hoping tomorrow that we will come back with a little fire and anger in our bellies,” she said.
As a result, AHS (17-4 overall) scored 58 first-half points on their way to an 80-35 home win against Conestoga. The point total was the Eagles' highest of the season by 11 points.
“We, offensively, needed to get our feet back under us,” Wolf stated afterward.
Senior Britt Nielsen led the way with 23 points, knocking down three 3-pointers during Arlington's 31-point second period. Macy Wolf added 18 points with four 3-point makes all during the first half.
The Eagles' Emme Timm scored 15 points, too, leading her team from the foul line with four makes. Her teammates — Hayley Arp and Hailey O'Daniel — produced six points apiece as well as AHS bounced back from its first loss to a team with a losing record this season.
The Eagles next play today at Plattsmouth before a regular season finale against Louisville on Friday.
Knights upset Eagles
Arlington prevented a Bergan inbound with 15.4 seconds left during Thursday's matchup at AHS, but the Eagles couldn't capitalize on the turnover. Nielsen's last-ditch attempt missed and the Knights celebrated a 38-35 upset victory.
“Definitely a disappointing night,” Coach Wolf said. “We did not play like ourselves.”
Arlington trailed 10-6 after one period, but responded with a 16-point second to take a 22-16 lead into halftime. The advantage shrunk to a single point, 27-26, through three quarters, but the Eagles were still in position to win in the end.
They just missed too many easy shots throughout, Wolf said.
“Just didn't have any energy,” she added.
Nielsen scored a game-high 19 points, producing five during the final quarter. Timm scored a go-ahead free throw at 35-34 and finished with seven points, while Wolf had nine with two made 3-pointers for AHS.
Mia Cortes and Claire Mlnarik, meanwhile, led victorious Bergan with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
AHS BASKETBALL LINE SCORES
Friday
Arlington 80, Conestoga 35
CON (4-16) 15 6 4 10 — 35
AHS (17-4) 27 31 14 8 — 80
Scoring: AHS — Britt Nielsen 23, Macy Wolf 18, Emme Timm 15, Hayley Arp 6, Hailey O'Daniel 6, Valeria Carvajal 5, Gracen Adams 4, Lauren Pittman 3.
CON — Davida Garrett 10, Ayla Garrett 6, Grace Rodis 6, Isabel Boland 5, Alyssa Batt 5, Mya Kelley 2, Olivia Parton 1.
Thursday
Fremont Bergan 38, Arlington 35
FB (8-11) 10 6 10 12 — 38
AHS (16-4) 6 16 5 8 — 35
Scoring: AHS — Nielsen 19, Wolf 9, Timm 7.
FB — Mia Cortes 11, Claire Mlnarik 10, Peyton Langhorst 4, Alina Ortiz 4, Marisa Drake 3, Madison Schmidt 3, Tessa Powers 2, Kenadee Weitzel 1.
