Thursday's C-1 tournament results:

Crofton 61, Fairbury 46: Three-time defending Class C-1 state champion Crofton had everything going its way.

The Warriors were dominating on the boards. They were hitting  50 percent of their shots and they held Fairbury’s KiLee Edson, the highest-scoring player in the tournament, scoreless in the first half.

“We were playing one of our better defensive games and we built a 19-point lead (49-30) by the end of the third quarter,” said Crofton coach Aaron Losing.

In the first three quarters, Fairbury hit just 31 percent from the field and committed 16 turnovers, compared with Crofton’s 50 percent shooting and nine turnovers.

Then it happened.

“It was inevitable that Edson was going to get her points and besides, it would be foolish to think that we could go an entire game without me yelling at the girls,” Losing said.

Edson, a senior, scored 19 points in the second half. She hit five consecutive fast-break layups and sparked a 16-2 Fairbury run to close the gap to 51-46 with 3:45 left in the game.

“We got sloppy, took quick shots, had a couple of turnovers and allowed them (the Jeffs) to get the fast break — and all those things added up,” Losing said.

Crofton shut off the leak,  though, and didn’t allow another point the rest of the game. The Jeffs missed their last six shots and saw Crofton’s Bridget Lancaster hit four three throws, Molly Van Heek add another pair and center Morgan Wilken score her last basket of the game.

Wilken, a 6-foot-1 senior track recruit at Nebraska, finished with 21 points, 13 rebounds and seven steals.

“Even at halftime, when we were down by 12, we thought we were in the game,” said Fairbury coach Shawn Ekwall, whose team finished 16-5. “We spread things out in the second half and did a better job of getting the ball into KiLee and getting her some help. We knew they couldn’t hold her down all game.

“In the end, we just couldn’t stop 44 (Wilken) because she is so big and strong and their other posts were almost as effective,” he said. “And when they did such a good job of sealing off the inside, we couldn’t make up for that advantage.”

—Ken Hambleton

Bishop Neumann 70, Milford 56: A bigger kite is going to fly higher. A bigger engine will make your car go faster.

“There are just some things you can’t change,” said Milford coach John Lohmeier. “And a Sugar Ray Leonard middleweight is not going to beat a Muhammad Ali heavyweight.”

Bishop Neumann drove the point home in a 70-56 victory against Milford with the advantage of size and depth. Neumann (21-2) outrebounded Milford 44-31 and hit almost 50 percent for much of the game, while holding Milford a a 35 percent shooting mark in the second half.

Milford’s lack of size was hampered because post player Jordan Dahle, one of the team’s leading scorers and rebounders, was on the bench. She tore a knee ligament in the district championship a week ago.

“We battled hard and I thought we did as much as we could. But Neumann is not only longer, but they are more athletic and they are a complete team,” Lohmeier said. “I thought we did a great job to close it up in the fourth quarter, but that size and depth is going to account for something in the long run.”

Milford closed to 53-49 with 5:41 left in the game, as reserve Shauna Stauffer, who scored 20 points, hit back-to-back baskets on assists from Savannah Lohmeier and Traci Aschoff.

“I think we got going again and showed some poise from being in the state volleyball tournament and the state track meet under pressure,” said Neumann coach Rick Ahrens. “We got the right people on the court at the end and that made a big difference.”

Neumann outscored Milford 17-7 in the final five minutes of the game. Elizabeth Mach finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while teammate McKenzie Fujan scored 14, Sara Reeves 11 and freshman Alyssa Stanek 10.

“We had to sit some people in the first half with some foul trouble and we were having trouble shooting well here,” Ahrens said. “We emphasized rebounding all week because teams do have trouble shooting here (Pershing Center) because of the background. That made up for a lot misses.

“And we also made up a lot of ground with some pretty athletic people out there — Lizzy (Mach) is a volleyball recruit at UNO, Stanek is as good a freshman as there is around and Emily Kmiecik (who had 10 rebounds) is a 200 sprinter in the spring,” he said.

As for Friday's semifinal against Crofton, Ahrens said the matchups under the basket will be crucial.

“We are as tall, if not taller, but we’re not as wide and strong, so we’re going to have to find an answer or two with speed and defense,” he said.

Milford coach Lohmeier said Neumann should have the advantage.

“Neumann is more complete, I think. And I’d be surprised if they didn’t make it to the final on Saturday,” he said.

— Ken Hambleton

Norfolk Catholic 62, Kearney Catholic 34: Class C-1 top-ranked Norfolk Catholic made the only repair necessary in the second half and rolled past Kearney Catholic 62-34  in a state tournament first-round game Thursday at Pershing Center.

“We were getting killed on rebounds in the first half and we did a nice job of making the adjustments — well, the girls did that on their own — and it worked out pretty well for us,” said Norfolk Catholic coach Tim Kassmeier, whose team is 22-1.

Norfolk Catholic limited Kearney Catholic to 25 percent shooting in the second half, took a 22-9 edge in rebounding in the final two quarters and pressured the Stars into 26 turnovers in the game.

Norfolk Catholic senior guard Nicole Brungardt, who led all scorers with 18 points, sparked the Knights, Kassmeier said.

“She’s been a starter for us for four years and she knows how to relax everybody and pick them up at the same time,” he said. “She knows not to force things when we shouldn’t and she knows how to get our team talking on the court. With her and Blair Schommer (who scored 11 points), we’ve got people who are like coaches on the floor.”

Kearney Catholic sophomores Katie Sokolowski and Becky Squires combined for 20 points and 20 rebounds.

Kearney Catholic coach Rick Petri said Norfolk Catholic wore his team down.

“They did a better job on rebounding, defense and offense in the second half and we just got a little tired,” he said.

— Ken Hambleton

Minden 40, Hershey 31: Minden got more out of less than any team in recent state tournament history.

The Whippets hit just nine field goals, none in the first nine minutes of the game and only one in the fourth quarter, but managed to rally and stop Hershey 40-31 on Thursday.

“We played great defense in the second half and even though we never got it going on offense, we got enough to win,” said Minden coach Rick Chramosta, whose Class C-1 No. 6 team is 21-2.

“We stopped turning the ball over as much as we did in the first half. We just never got in sync on offense until Ann (Ahrens) hit a couple of shots from the elbow (free-throw line) there in the third quarter. And even then, we didn’t get much going in the fourth quarter.”

Despite hitting just 25 percent of its 36 shots from the field, Minden overcame a dismal start,  when Hershey rolled to a 10-3 lead in the first quarter.

Minden closed to two points at halftime by holding Hershey to seven points on 1-for-11 shooting in the second quarter. The Whippets finally took the lead for good in the fourth quarter when Samantha VanPool hit a pair of free throws with 4:28 left in the game. The Whippets counted on 11 of 14 free throws in the fourth quarter.

Unranked Hershey missed four shots and suffered through five turnovers during a six-minute span in the fourth quarter when Minden pulled away.

“They hit their free throws and took away what we were trying to do on offense in the second half, and even the second quarter,” said Hershey coach Jeff Steinbeck, whose team finished 17-5. “We just went flat on offense after the first quarter and never got it going again.”

Hershey hit just 22 percent of   from the field in the game.

Marla Munsen and Ivy Kuroki scored 10 points apiece to lead Hershey, while Ahrens scored 12 to lead Minden.

— Ken Hambleton