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LINCOLN -- For the second straight season, Pender’s girls basketball team is the state champ.
The Pendragons took down Southern Valley High 39-25 in an early morning clash on Saturday to win the 2024 Class D1 Nebraska State Championship. It was their second straight state title, but only their first at the D1 level since 2013.
“We knew what to expect as far as all the things around the game,” Pender coach Jason Dolliver said. “So, I think it was absolutely an advantage for us have been here last year.”
Pender was led by lone senior Avery Wegner and Maya Dolliver, one of two Dolliver sisters. Wegner and Dolliver combined to hit big free throws down the stretch. The elder of the Dolliver sisters finished with a game-high of 16 points, eight of which came in the fourth quarter to ice the game for the Pendragons.
It seemed early on as though both teams struggled to get into the game. Jason Dolliver said after the game that’s because of the unfamiliarity between the two schools going into the matchup. They weren’t sure of what to expect from the Eagles.
“We did our best to prepare and get ready for them,” Dolliver said. “We always focus on controlling three things, [which would be] playing great defense, rebounding and working together on both ends of the court.”
Southern Valley found itself still very much in the game at the first of four planned breaks in the action.
Despite only managing five points on two baskets and a free throw in the first quarter, the Eagles did enough defensively to keep their opponent to seven points. However, down two after eight minutes of action was the closest Southern Valley came to the Pendragons.
Pender put together a stellar defensive display, with forced turnovers and made Southern Valley uncomfortable for large stretches of the game. That included a stretch of nearly 15 minutes of game time without a field goal for the Eagles.
Pender led Southern Valley by a score of 14-6 at half. Neither team scored more than seven in either of the first two quarters. One bright spot in the first half for the Pendragons was Hadley Walsh. Walsh hit a couple of 3-pointers that helped Pender create some separation before halftime.
“I knew we had to shoot to get hot and shoot to stay hot,” she said.
The second half began with much of the same. Then, a jump ball around the five-minute mark in the third quarter launched the game into a flurry of buckets. The scoring explosion by both teams lasted around a minute and a half. The two teams combined to make five baskets including two 3-pointers, one by each team.
The third quarter was won by Southern Valley. Although, their first half offensive struggles proved costly, in the fourth quarter, the Eagles were unable to cut the deficit lower than seven points before they were forced to start fouling.
Wegner, who celebrated her 18th birthday today, said she was living every girl’s high school basketball dream.
“Being able to do it with my best friends by my side is just the best feeling,” she said.
