Lady Eagles Downed By Beatrice In Tourney Finals

O'NEILL'S AUTUMN HILKER (4) fights off two Beatrice defenders in last Friday's championship game.

The O'Neill Lady Eagles competed in the O'Neill Holiday Tourney on Thursday and Friday this past week.

The girls had a good match-up with North Central, winning by two in overtime 68-66 Thursday. On Friday, the girls advanced to the finals against the Beatrice Lady Orangemen, where they lost 67-37.

In the game against North Central, the lady Eagles held their own, outscoring the Knights by two and leading at the half 31-29.

The Eagles again outscored North Central by five in the third, and the Knights outscored the Eagles 20-13 in the fourth to tie the score and send the game into overtime. Both teams had players in foul trouble, with Ashley Sidak and Lauryn Dusatko out, and the Knights had Mya and Bridget Lewis out with foul trouble.

O'Neill found their leader in underclassman Hannah Hilker, who scored 22 points. That makes it seven consecutive games in which Hilker has scored at least 25 percent of O'Neill's points. Another player making a difference was Ashley Sidak, who scored 11 points along with four steals.

The Eagles outscored the Knights by one 9-8 to win and advance to the final against Beatrice.

Hannah Hilker had a fantastic game, putting up 22 points shooting 57 percent; Hilker had two rebounds and two steals; Ashley Sidak had 11 points, two rebounds and four steals; Oliva Young had 11 points and two rebounds; Presley Heiss had eight points five rebounds and one steal; Autumn Hilker had eight points and one steal; Lauryn Dusatko seven points, 12 rebounds and three steals; and Rylee Selby one point and three rebounds.

OHS      14    17    15     13     9    68

NCHS   14    15.    10    19     8    66

The Lady Eagles scored the most points they've had all season to find success on Thursday. They made it a nail-biter but managed to escape with a 68-66 victory over North Central. The victory was much-needed relief for O'Neill as it spelled an end to their three-game losing streak.

On Friday, the Lady Eagles faced the Class B Beatrice Orangemen.

The Eagles faced a tough match, trailing at the half 37-22. The Eagles tried to keep up with Beatrice, but their press kept the Lady Eagles at bay to fall 67-37.

Olivia Young and Lauryn Dusatko certainly did their best on Friday to try and avoid the loss. Young scored 14 points with six rebounds, while Dusatko scored 12 points with five rebounds. Young continues to roll, besting her previous point total in the last three games she's played.

Heiss had nine points, one rebound, and one steal, and Hilker had two points, four rebounds, and two steals.

OHS 9 13 8 7 37

BHS 16 21 13 17 67

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