Senior Bria Bench hit the go-ahead free throw with 28.9 seconds left Friday night as the Fort Calhoun girls basketball team opened the season with a tight win against the No. 7 squad in Class C2.
Coach Marty Plum's Class C1 Pioneers (2-0 overall) beat the Fremont Bergan Knights, 36-34.
“It was just such an amazing feeling to knock down both of those shots late in the game,” Bench said. “I knew those were kind of make-or-break.”
Freshman Raeann Massey hit another foul shot down the stretch to push FCHS' lead from one point to two before the Knights' final attempt at a tie came up empty at the buzzer.
“It was crazy to have so much noise in the gym,” Bench said after the victory.
The Pioneers trailed going into the fourth quarter, 25-23, but engineered a 31-26 lead with four combined baskets from Massey and Bench.
Bergan climbed back ahead, though, with Mia Cortes' 3-pointer at the 1:13 mark, giving it a 32-31 advantage.
Calhoun didn't cower, though. Freshman Ansley Elofson hit two free throws less than 15 seconds later before the Knights again responded with another bucket.
Coach Plum's team kept getting to the charity stripe, however, and earned the victory from there.
“We're really competitive and we want to win,” Massey said, explaining how her team came out on top. “We have the right to make a statement this year. I feel like if we just keep fighting, we can keep going. Keep going strong.”
Bench had a team-best 12 points for the Pioneers, while Massey had nine. Ella Bouwman scored seven, and both Maelie Nelson and Elofson notched four points apiece.
Defensively, FCHS stuck with its full-court pressure for much of the game, including in the final seconds.
“We've been working on it a lot during practice,” Bench said. “We're all really fast and can, most of the time, get back (to the hoop) in time.”
After the 1-0 start, however, Massey said her team couldn't get complacent.
“There's always more to improve on,” she said after her prep debut. “I mean, we've got a game tomorrow. We've got to come out strong.”
FCHS tops Syracuse
The Pioneers improved to 2-0 Saturday with a 20-point home victory against Syracuse, 53-33.
Nelson led the victors with 16 points, while Elofson scored 14 and Massey had 12.
Coach Plum's team led 17-3 after one period, 25-9 at halftime and outscored the Rockets 17-13 during the third quarter. It next plays Thursday against Douglas County West.
FCHS GIRLS HOOPS LINE SCORES
Saturday
Fort Calhoun 53, Syracuse 33
SHS (1-1) 3 6 13 11 — 33
FCHS (2-0) 17 8 17 11 — 53
Scoring: FCHS — Maelie Nelson 16, Ansley Elofson 14, Raeann Massey 12, Bria Bench 6, Ari Nelson 3, Ella Bouwman 2.
SHS — Kadyn Sisco 15, Jayden Meyer 7, Ashlynn Vestal 4, Kathleen Donovan 3, Claire Noerrlinger 2, Eva Brammier 2.
Friday
Fort Calhoun 36, No. 7 Fremont Bergan 34
FB (0-1) 4 9 12 9 — 34
FCHS (1-0) 7 7 9 13 — 36
Scoring: FCHS — Bench 12, Massey 9, Bouwman 7, Nelson 4, Elofson 4.
FB — Mia Cortes 10, Claire Mlnarik 6, Summer Bojanski 5, Peyton Langhorst 5, Paige Frickenstein 4, Madison Schmidt 2, Tessa Powers 2.
