Lady Cougars First-Ever Basketball Game at State!

March 9, 2016 Leave a comment


By Clare Wiltse, Sports Contributor

Northeast faced a tall order as they played in the first ever State Tournament for the Lady Cougars.  They took on a Sandhills/Thedford team that had three 6′ 1″ starters who helped them to a 22-4 record.

The Cougars made a valiant effort.  They had a three point lead at half time, but the size advantage turned the tide in the second half.  Down by two at the end of three quarters, LDNE ran out of gas in the final four minutes and lost 49-36.

State tournament nerves showed up for both teams in the first quarter.  It took four minutes for the Cougars to score.  Brianne Haskell sank one of two free shots to make it 1-2. Sandhills/Thedford made its opening shot, but missed on their next three tries.  After the Knight’s Rebecca Higgins knocked down a three Northeast went to the 1:01 mark before Brianne Haskell matched her.  With  20 seconds left Mariah Jessen put Northeast on top with a trey.  Sandhills/Thedford managed a basket in the closing seconds to tie the score at 7-7.

LDNE made only 2 of 14 shots, but hustled to retain possession with 4 offensive boards.  The Knights made three of nine shots.

Northeast retook the lead in the second quarter.  Brianne Haskell sank two free shots  two minutes into the period.  The Knights got a pair of baskets before Haskell made her second three. With 2:31 left in the half Lexie Bacon scored for 14-11 lead.

Once again the shooting was sub-par for both teams.  Lyons-Decatur made 2 of 10 While Thedford was 2 of 11.  Northeast was 2 for 2 from the line and Sandhills was 0-2.  The shorter Cougar team had a 16-15 advantage in rebounding.

After intermission the Knights made a determined effort to use their size advantage and get the ball down low. The Taylor twins each banged in a basket to give Sandhills/Thedford a 15-14 advantage before Kelly Wakeley was able to drive the baseline and score.  Higgins made a three and with 6:00 left in the period Abby Peterson tied the score at 18-18.

The Knights put in the next nine points.  They had three baskets in the paint,  but the back breaker was two offensive rebounds which drew fouls on the put backs.  Brianne Haskell ended the run with a basket to cut the lead to 27-20.  In the last three minutes Northeast made five free throws and Wakeley drove the lane and scored..  The Cougars were back in the game trailing by only two points. 29-27.

The team traded points to start the fourth quarter.  The Knights made four free throws.  Kelly Wakeley continued to find a hole in the Knight’s defense as she got into the lane for another score at the start of the fourth quarter.  Lexie  Bacon got a short jumper to fall and the score stood at 33-31 with 6:33 to play.

The Taylors got five points to jump the Knight’s lead to 38-31.  With 4:23 left in the game Brianne Haskell cut he deficit to five with a pair of free throws.  Twenty seconds later Kelly Wakeley was at the line, but the basketball gods were not shining on LDNE as she missed both shots.  Sandhills ran off six points before Abby Peterson made a free throw with 2:01. LDNE trailed by ten points, 44-34.

The Knights added five more free throws to bring their score to 49.   They made 14 of 17 tries in the fourth period. Abby Peterson closed out the Cougar scoring with a basket with 20 seconds left.

For the game Northeast shot a season low 23%.  They made 11 of 48 shots.  Sandhills’ height had a big roll in the misses. Coach Haskell said,  “We like to face man-to-man defenses because our offense likes to penetrate the lane.  We could get around the first defender, but there would be a big body in the way and another coming from the side.”  The Knights had nine blocked shots.  They were aware of Lexie Bacon’s shooting at the District Championship game and did not give her any good looks from outside the arc.

The Cougar defense was able to hold the Knights to 28% shooting.  They made only 15 of 49 shots.

After out rebounding the taller Knight team in the first half, the Cougars were muscled out in the second half.  Sandhills/Thedford had a 22 to 8 advantage in the second half.  They had eight offensive boards.  “We had problems getting backside help and it seemed the long rebounds all caromed their way,” said Haskell.

Coach Haskell said he was really proud of his team.  This group of girls gave it their all.  They have set the team record for wins.  The seniors have come a long way and worked to improve their game.  The underclassmen were great teammates and should play a key roll next year for BRLD.

LDNE finishes the year with a 16-8 record.  Brianne Haskell was the top scorer for Northeast with 17 points.  Kelly Wakeley had six points.  Mariah Jessen had seven rebounds.

LDNE 7 7 13 9 -36
S/Thedford 7 4 18 20 -49

2pt 3pt FT Rb F TP
S. Henneman 0 0 0 0 0 0
Simonsen 0 0 0 0 0 0
Wakeley 3 0 0/4 2 1 6
Haskell 1 2 9/10 4 5 17
Collins 0 0 0 0 1 0
Bacon 2 0 1/2 6 5 5
L. Henneman 0 0 0 0 0 0
Jessen 0 1 0 7 2 3
Peterson 2 0 1/2 5 0 5
LDNE 8/31 3/17 11/18 24 13 36
S/Thedford 13/43 2/10 17/24 37 13 49

The Northeast basketball team may not have won their game, but Lyons-Decatur Northeast did win an award from the NSAA.  LDNE claimed the Sportsmanship Award for D-2.

Northeast had a large following of students, family, and alumni fill their side of the court.  The students celebrated the affair with costumes from super-heroes and other characters.  The pep band provided some great music.  The whole crowd cheered for their team with the best of sportsmanship.

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Lady Cougars Close Out Regular Season Victorious

February 16, 2016 Leave a comment


By Clare Wiltse, Sports Contributor

The Lady Cougars closed the regular season with two wins.  Victories over Wisner-Pilger and Logan View/Scribner-Snyder provided the power points to move LDNE up to the number one seed in the D-2-3 sub-district.  They will play (7-13) Bancroft-Rosalie in the first round.

With the 50-48 victory over (13-9) Wisner-Pilger and 48-29 conquest of (4-18) LV/SS the girls raised their record to 13-7.  The finished with a 6-6 record against  EHC opponents.  Their two losses in the EHC tournament were countered with regular game wins over Tekamah-Herman and Wisner-Pilger.

After a slow start doomed them in the EHC tournament against W-P, the Northeast girls played steady first quarter and took a lead into the second quarter.  They led 12-7 after Brandi Simonsen scored.  The quarter closed at 13-9.

Lexie Bacon scored the first points of the second period, but Wisner-Pilger went on a 6-0 run to tie the score at 15.  After Brianne Haskell scored five points, the Lady Gator used a pair of threes to move to a 23-20 lead. A basket by Abby Peterson and two free throws by Lexie made it  24-23.  The Lady Gators got a score at the buzzer to take a 25-24 lead.

It took two minutes for the Cougars to get a score in the second half.  W-P scored twice before Brianne Haskell converted  two free shots.  Tessie Collins tied the game at 29 with a bomb from the point. Abby Peterson matched a score by Wisner before they ran off four with two stick backs.  Northeast continued to battle as the got a pair of free throws from Haskell.  Wakeley followed with a trey.  Mariah Jessen sank her first  trifecta shot of the season.  Wisner-Pilger lead 41-39.

Haskell made her sixth straight free throw at the started the fourth quarter to tie the score.  A three pointer by Lexie Bacon put LDNE on top, 44-42,  with 4:43 to play.  After one make and one miss by Haskell at the charity strip Northeast was up 45-42.  The Gators came back to take a two point lead on a pair of free throws by Heller and a trey by Knust.

Northeast patiently worked the ball around until Bacon found an opening a made her second trey of the quarter and boosted the Cougars back to a 48-47 lead with 2:40 to play.

The next two minutes saw each team fail on two offensive possessions.  Heller would tie the score with a free throw at :35 second mark.  The Cougars settled for a final shot. With  the Gators closing guarding the “shooters” Abby Peterson got the ball at the left baseline and sank a  ten  footer at the buzzer for a 50-48 win.

Lexie Bacon paced the team with  17 points.  She had three treys to bring her total to 40 for the season.  Brianne Haskell added   12 points

Wis-Pil 9 16 16 7 -48
LDNE 13 11 15 11 -50

2pt 3pt FT Rb F TP

Simonsen 1 0 0 2 0 2
Wakeley 1 1 0 5 3 5
Haskell 1 1 7/8 2 2 12
Collins 0 1 0 2 0 3
Bacon 2 3 4/5 2 2 17
L Henneman 0 0 0 1 0 0
Jessen 0 1 0/1 5 4 3
Peterson 4 0 0/1 6 1 8
LDNE 9/18 7/18 11/15 25 12 50
Wisner-Pilger 13/41 3/10 13/17 28 13 48

Northeast closed out the season with a ragged 48-29 win over Logan View/Scribner-Snyder.

“We just could not hit our shots tonight.” said Coach Haskell.  The team hit a season low 29% from the field.  They  had combined 18  of 51 two point shots and 0 for 11 from behind the arc.  Free throws did not fall either as the team made just 12 of 23 from the charity stripe.  For the season the team has been shooting 40% from the field and  64% from the line. Northeast opened he game with 2 for 12 shooting he first period and 3 for six from the line.  Peterson and Wakeley scored goals as LDNE led 7-3.

The second period went better with 14 points on 5 for 12 shooting., but they made only 4 of 8 from the line.  Wakeley and Bacon were saddled with three fouls and spent time on  the bench.  Mariah Jessen scored  seven points.  Northeast led 31-14.

The Cougars got six points from Wakeley and five from ;Haskell as they moved to a 36-17 lead in the third quarter.

Both  teams score 14 points in the fourth quarter.  Lexie Bacon scored twice before fouling out.  Wakeley had a pair of scores .

Mariah Jessen was the team leader  with a game-high 12 points and 16  rebounds plus she had 4 blocked shots.  Kelley Wakeley had 11 points.

LDNE 7 14 15 12 -48
LV/SS 3 11 3 12 -29

\ 2pt 3pot FT Rb F TP
Simonsen 0 0 0 0 2 0
Wakeley 5 0 1/1 6 3 11
Haskell 2 9 3/6 4 2 7
Collins 1 0 0 6 0 2
Bacon 3 0 1/2 3 5 7
L. Henneman 0 0 0 1 0 0
Jessen 3 0 6/8 16 4 12
Peterson 4 0 1/3 9 4 9
LDNE 18/51 0/11 12/23 46 20 48
LV/SS 9/32 0/5 11/17 25 17 29

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Lady Cougars Drop Two in EHC Play

February 10, 2016 Leave a comment


By Clare Wiltse, Sports Contributor

The Lady Cougars finished 0-2  in the EHC Basketball Tournament.  After losing to Tekamah-Herman 65-56 in the first round they lost to Wisner-Pilger in the consolation bracket.  The Lady Gators won by twelve, 61-49 on their home court.

A fast start by Wisner-Pilger was the undoing of the Cougars.  The Gators opened the game with three behind the arc and jumped to a 9-2 lead and Northeast played catch up the whole game.

“We used a zone against Wisner-Pilger,” said Coach Haskell “and for the most part we did a good job defending the first shot, but we did not rebound well.  They got way too many second chance points.”

The shots did not fall for LDNE in the first half and the Maroon trailed by fifteen, 34-19 when they went to the lockers.

In the second half Northeast got in a good rhythm and cut the lead to just eight points in the third period.  An 11-4 run got the score to 38-30.  W-P closed out the quarter on a 9-2 run to restore their fifteen point margin.

Northeast outscored Wisner-Pilger by three in the fourth quarter for a 61-49 final.

The two teams will have a rematch on the Lyons court on February 9.  LDNE has an 11-7 record and W-P has a 11-8 mark.  The girls’ final regular season game is Friday at Loganview.

LDNE 9 10 13 17 -49
W-P 18 16 13 14 -61

2pt 3pt FT Rb TP
Simonsen 3 0 1/5 1 7
Wakeley 1 1 0/2 3 5
Haskell 4 0 7/9 5 15
Collins 0 1 0 3 3
Bacon 0 2 0 0 6
L.Henneman 0 1 0 1 3
Jessen 3 0 0 4 6
Peterson 2 0 0 13 4
LDNE 13/34 5/18 8/16 30 49

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Lady Cougars Battle Tough Opposition

January 28, 2016 Leave a comment


By Clare Wiltse, Sports Contributor
The Lady Cougars battled against teams with a combined record of 34-18 the last week.  They dropped (11-7) Cedar Bluffs, but lost to (11-5) Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family and (12-6) Stanton.  They have a 10-5 record going into a game against (12-3) Oakland -Craig this Thursday.

Northeast never trailed as they defeated Cedar Bluffs 59-28.  Two scores by Abby Peterson opened the game before  Brianne Haskell penetrated the lane for a goal and four free throws.  Northeast closed the period with a trey by Bacon giving LDNE  a 13-6 lead.

Northeast closed the half with 11-2 run for a 29-10 advantage.  Tessie Collins and Lexie Bacon both had five points.

The Cougars outscored the Lady Wildcats 30-18 in the second half.  Brianne Haskell topped the team with 15 points and Lexie Bacon had 14.  Mariah Jessen had six blocked shots.

Cedar Bluffs 6 4 9 9 -28
LDNE 13 16 14 16 -59

2pt 3pt FT Rb F TP
S. Henneman 0 0 0 2 1 0
Simonsen 0 0 0 1 3 0
Wakeley 3 0 0 3 1 6
Haskell 4 0 7/8 7 0 15
Collins 3 0 1/1 7 1 7
Bacon 1 4 0 8 2 14
L. Henneman 1 0 0 2 0 2
Jessen 3 0 1/1 4 4 7
Peterson 4 0 0/1 6 3 8
LDNE 19 4 9/11 40 15 59
Cedar Bluffs 6 3 7/16 21 8 28

The Lady Cougars had a couple of tough EHC games over he weekend.  A slow start and three untimely errors in he fourth quarter led to a 61-49 loss to Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family.

H/LHF had some long girls to run a 1-3-1 zone defense.  It gave Northeast fits as they could not penetrate it and they settled for outside shots.  They missed all six of their three point attempts.  Brianne Haskell and Abby Peterson score the team’s only goals as they trailed 6-111 at the quarter.

Haskell worked her magic as she was able to dribble through the zone and score.  She had ten points as Northeast railed 26-21 at the half.

The offense came to life in the third period.  Lexie Bacon drained four three-pointers and Northeast pulled to within  one point, 39-40.

H/LHF got the first four points of the fourth quarter before Lexie hit her fifth trey of the half.  After scores from the paint by Jessen and Peterson the Cougars were still down 47-46.   The Lady Bulldogs got two scores off of turnovers to build a 51-46.  Brianne Haskell gave the Cougars another three,  but the scoring ended there  as H/LHF scored ten unanswered points for a 61-49 win.

Bacon topped the team with 18 points and Haskell had 17 points.

H/LHF 11 15 14 21 -61
LDNE 6 15 18 10 -49

2pt 3pt FT Rb F TP
Wakeley 2 0 1/2 3 4 5
Haskell 3 1 8/9 4 5 17
Collins 1 0 0 0 1 2
Bacon 1 5 1/2 9 4 18
Jessen 1 0 0 2 4 2
Peterson 2 0 1/2 5 3 5
LDNE 10 6 11/15 23 22 49
H/LHF 20 1 18/30 38 12 61

The Fillies of Stanton took a 65-55 win on Saturday.   Northeast trailed 29-24 at the half.  After being outscored by nine points in the third period the Lady Cougars fought back to score 20 points in the fourth quarter.

Lexie Bacon was the top scorer with19 points.  She added four three pointers to bring her total to 34 for the season.

Brianne Haskell added ten points.  This moved her into second place in Career Scoring with 888 points.  She moved past Stef  Peterson who had 884.  She trails Kristen Cameron’s record by just 25 points.

Mariah Jessen and Kelly Wakeley were also in double figures with 12 and 10 points respectively.

LDNE 9 15 11 20 -55
Stanton 16 13 20 16 -65

2pt 3pt FT Rb TP
Simonsen 0 0 0 3 0
Wakeley 1 2 2/3 5 10
Haskell 1 2 2/2 1 10
Collins 0 0 0 2 0
Bacon 2 4 3/6 3 19
Jessen 5 0 5/4 1 12
Peterson 2 0 0 8 4
LDNE 11/28 8/21 9/15 23 55
Stanton 17/45 8/20 7/14 34 65

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Lady Cougars Come Up Short Against Pender

January 20, 2016 Leave a comment


By Clare Wiltse, Sports Contributor

Two of the best from the East Husker Conference squared off in Pender on January 15 and the game went down to the final seconds before the victor was decided.   Unfortunately for the Lady Cougars they came out on the short end of a 56-54 score.

After a very physical game with several questionable calls Coach Rex Haskell praised his girls.  “They did a very good job of playing through some tough situations and not letting it bother their play.”

Lyons-Decatur defense forced the Lady Pendragons to shoot from the outside on the game’s onset.  Pender made only one of seven and the Cougars  moved to a 6-2 lead with a basket from Abby Peterson, a three point play by Lexie Bacon, and free throw by Brianne Haskell.

Pender finally got inside and tied the score at 10.  The Cougar closed the period with a deuce by Bacon and trey by Wakeley for a 15-11 lead.

Northeast got three points to open the second quarter, but Pender came back nine unanswered and took a 20-18 lead.  Two free throws by Mariah Jessen tied the score and two more by Lexie Bacon put the Cougars on top.  Tessie Collins made it six free shots in a row.  Three conversions by the Lady Pendragons gave them the lead until Kelly Wakeley closed out the half with basket, 26-25.  A steal by Lexie Bacon gave Northeast a last second shot, but a no-call ended the half as she appeared to be fouled on a three point attempt.

Northeast got an eight point lead when Mariah Jessen had two conversions and Wakeley and Bacon connected from downtown.  A basket by Jessen made it 36-28.  LDNE would score six more points.  Pender would get eleven.

A big momentum change was made when the Cougars led 42-35.  A foul by Jessen put Pender’s Amber English   at the line for two shots.  She made the first and missed the second.  The ball was called out of bounds off of Peterson.  Pender followed with a trey for 42-39 score.

Pender ran off a eight straight points open the fourth quarter to take a 47-42 lead.  Mariah Jessen got the Cougars on the board with 4:33 left.  Following a Pender three point play Haskell made one of two and the Cougars were down by five.  Jessen took a couple of feeds from Haskell as Northeast closed to within three points, 52-49.   Pender made only one of six free shots while Lexie Bacon pulled the Cougars closer with two free shots.  Tailing 53-51 Bacon had a good look from behind the arc, but missed.

With 26.3 seconds left Pender went to the line with a 53-51 lead.  Kamryn Anderson made one and missed the second, but Cecilee Jacobson grabbed the rebound for a put back.  Brianne Haskell scored a trey just before the buzzer for a 56-54 final score.

Pender has a 9-6 record.  Northeast has a 9-3 mark  going into game against (9-6) Cedar
Bluffs, (9-6) Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family, and (10-5) Stanton.
Pender was led by led by the coach’s daughter, Hallie Ballinger with 17 points, and Amber English with 14.  Northeast got a big game from Mariah Jessen who scored a career-high 15 points and had three blocked shots.  Lexie Bacon was close behind with 14.  Kelly Wakeley added 10 points.  Brianne Haskell scored ten points while nursing a sprained ankle which took her out of the Mead game in the second quarter.

North shot 40% to 35% to Pender.  They had a 34 to 32 advantage in  rebounding, but Pender made he most of 13 offensive boards.

LDNE 15 11 16 12 -54
Pender 11 14 14 17 -56

2pt 3pt FT Rb F TP
Simonsen 0 0 0 0 3 0
Wakeley 2 2 0 5 4 10
Haskell 2 1 3/6 2 4 10
Collins 0 0 2/2 1 3 2
Bacon 3 1 5/7 11 4 14
Jessen 5 0 5/6 4 4 15
Peterson 1 0 1/2 11 3 30
LDNE 16/23 4/12 16/23 34 21 54
Pender 18/42 2/15 14/31 32 15 56

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Lady Cougars Start New Year With Three Wins

January 13, 2016 Leave a comment


By Clare Wiltse, Sports Contributor

The Lady Cougars started the New Year with three wins.  They defeated (0-13) Wakefield 70-30 on Tuesday.  Over the week end they took on some top tier teams and claimed two more victories.  Friday they knocked off (8-4) Tekamah-Herman and on Saturday (9-2) Mead fell to the Lyons-Decatur girls.

Lexie Bacon put in ten of her 19 game-high points in the first period as the Cougars jumped to a 12-7 lead over Wakefield.  She hit two of her successful three pointers in the quarter.

After playing on equal terms with the Lady Trojans during the second quarter the Northeast girls put the game away in the third period. The Lady Cougars turned up the heat on their full court press that produced 33 turnovers during the game.  Lexie
Bacon led the tem with 5 steals.

LDNE had a 24 to 8 scoring advantage in the third stanza.  Kelly Wakeley had two trifecta and a deuce to lead the way.  Tessie Collins and Lexie Bacon also nailed one from behind the arc.  LDNE stretched 14 point lead at the half to a 55-25 margin after three quarters.

The bench scored eight of the team’s fourth quarter points.  Brandi Simonsen led the way with 5 points as everyone on the team scored during the game.  LDNE stretched their lead to final score of 70-30.

Wakefield 7 10 8 5 -30
LDNE 12 9 24 15 -70

2pt 3pt FT Rb F TP
S. Henneman 0 0 1/2 0 1 1
Simonsen 1 0 5/6 2 3 7
Wakeley 4 2 0 4 1 14
Haskell 6 0 1/3 7 1 13
Collins 1 1 0 4 0 5
Bacon 4 3 2/2 9 2 19
L. Henneman 0 0 1/2 3 0 1
Jessen 3 0 1/5 5 2 7
Petersen 0 0 3/4 8 2 3
LDNE 19 6 14/26 40 12 70
Wakefield 13 1 1/5 30 20 30

Tekamah-Herman came to Lyons  on a three game win streak.  They had won six of their last seven games.  Lyons-Decatur turned them back by a score of 56-52.

The Cougars opened the game with a 12-11 lead at the end of one period.  By half time they had a 27-19 advantage.  Lexie Bacon connected on three treys asnd Mariah jessen had seven points in the paint.

The Lady Tigers started the second  half with an 8-1 run as the lead evaporated to a single digit.  Lexie Bacon gave the team some breathing room with two free shots.  After’ baskets by Wakeley and Peterson the lead was back up to five.  Treys by Wakeley and Bacon moved the lead to six as Northeast had a 42-36 lead at the end of the quarter.

The Cougars kept their six point margin through the fourth period.  A pair of charity shots by Lexie made it 49-42 with 2:26 to play.  The Tigers made a couple of three point heaves, but Brianne Haskell made a bucket and 5 of 6 from the line to insure the 56-54 win.

Brian Haskell and Lexie Bacon were the scoring leaders for LDNE.  Haskell had 18 points and Bacon scored 17 while leading rebounders with 9.

T-H 11 8 17 16 -52
LDNE 12 15 15 14 -56

2pt 3pt FT Rb F TP
Wakeley 3 1 0 4 3 9
Haskell 4 0 10/18 1 2 18
Collins 0 0 0 1 0 0
Bacon 0 4 5/6 9 2 17
Jessen 3 0 1/3 7 4 7
Peterson 2 0 1/3 3 4 5
LDNE 12/29 5/10 17/26 26 15 56
T-H 10 7 11/18 – 17 52

Mead was rated by the Omaha World -Herald in D-2 when Northeast came to town.  They came off their first loss to C-2  Yutan on Friday night and lost to the Cougars 51-40.

Northeast took an 8-6 lead in the first quarter.  They led by nine at the half, 25-16.  In the second half Northeast outscored the Lady Raiders 26 to 24.

It was not a good night for the two leading scorers for the  Lady Cougars.  Lexie and Brianne totaled just five points, twenty points below their combine average.    Kelly Wakeley, Mariah Jessen, and Tessie Collins stepped up their game to have a double figure scoring night.  Wakeley scored 12, Collins 11, and Jessen 10 points.

LDNE 8 17 7 19 -51
Mead 6 10 7 17 -40

2pt 3pt  FT Rb TP
Simonsen 1 0 1/2 1 3
Wakeley 3 2 0/2 2 12
Haskell 1 0 2/2 3 4
Collins 1 3 0 1 11
Bacon 0 0 1/2 2 1
L. Henneman 1 0 2/2 1 4
Jessen 3 0 4/4 6 10
Peterson 3 0 0 5 6
LDNE 13/31 5/15 10/14 21 51

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Lady Cougars Take Consolation Title at Holiday Tournament

January 6, 2016 Leave a comment


By Clare Wiltse, Sports Contributor

The Lady Cougars raised their mark to 6-2 as they took the consolation title at the Omaha  Nation Holiday Tournament.

Northeast got a tough draw in round one with a contest against D-1’s top rated Emerson-Hubbard.  They lot a hard fought contest, 65-55.  Lexie Bacon and Brianne Haskell combine for 33 of the teams points.

The team had one of their better shooting nights.  They made 19 of 35 shots (54%).  Lexie Bacon made 5 of  7 three point attempts.   Tessie Collins made all three of her shots. Mariah Jessen was two of two.  The team struggled at the line with 12 for 22 shooting.

LDNE 14 15 8 18 -55
E-H 18 17 13 18 -65

2pt 3pt FT Rb TP
Simonsen 0 0 0 1 0
Wakeley 4 0 1-5 4 9
Haskell 4 0 8-10 4 16
Collins 3 0 0 3 6
Bacon 1 5 0-3 4 17
Jessen 2 0 3-4 4 7
Peterson 0 0 0 5 0
Totals 14/24 5/11 12/22 24 55

Winless Santee was no competition the Lady Cougars as they rolled to a 58-10 win.  Three girls finished in double figures.  Lexie and Brianne each had 12 points while Mariah added 11.

The team made 24 of 45 two point shots. The went 10 of 15 at the line.

Santee 2 2 0 6 -10
LDNE 22 15 9 12 -58

Simonsen 2 0 1-2 2 5
Wakeley 4 0 0 3 8
Haskell 5 0 2-4 4 12
Collins 2 0 0 4 4
Bacon 5 0 2-2 2 12
L. Henneman 1 0 0 5 2
Jessen 3 0 5-7 4 11
Peterson 2 0 0 2 4
Totals 24/45 0/6 10/15 27 58

LDNE will have a busy week with three games.  Wakefield is at Lyons on Tuesday.  The weekend will feature some tough games with Tekamah-Herman visiting on Friday and (7-1) Mead hosting on Saturday afternoon.

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Lady Cougars Season Comes to an End

November 10, 2015 Leave a comment


By Clare Wiltse, Sports Contributor

The 2015 volleyball season came to a tearful end as the Lady Cougars lost in the sub-district finals in five sets to Cedar bluffs.  The moxy  of this group of girls shown through as they were down 2-0 and fought back to win the next two games and force a fifth.

The Cougars had defeated ((27-5) Cedar Bluffs and were expecting a tough match against the 9th rated Wildcats.

The first set found the teams tied at 5 when Cedarn Bluffs strung three points together for an 8-5 lead.  It was a catch up the rest of the set for LDNE.  They could never get closer than two points at 13-15 before the Wild Cats put on another three point run as the Cougars had three straight hitting errors.  LDNE would end up losing 25-17.

The second set was a total disaster for Northeast.  Cedar Bluffs scored the first eleven points.  After both teams had service errors Cedar Bluffs ran off four straight for a 16-2 lead. The Cougars were out of sorts and playing with no confidence.  The set ended as a 25-12 loss.

One game from elimination the girls gathered off the court to see if they could regain their composure.  The Cougars came back with a new confidence after the meeting and won the next two games.

“I didn’t say anything too special. It was a decision that each individual player had to make in order to come back. The girls stepped up their game and we can say with full confidence that they left nothing on the court. They gave it their all. After the 2nd set it was a close game the rest of the match. It just came down to who was going to finish out each point,” said Coach Hathaway.

In the third game, the Cougars exploded away from an 8-8  tie to take control of the game.  Lexie Bacon  would serve the team into the lead, but the Wild Cats made a short run to claim an 11-10 advantage.  Brianne Haskell served up five straight points with the help of 3 kills from Kelly Wakeley for 16-11 lead.  Another Wakeley kill side-outed Cedar Bluffs and Brandi Simonsen added two more points during her service.  Northeast would add a point during each of the next five service turns and fittingly a Wakeley kill would be game point, 25-21.

The Cougars were on the roll in the fourth set.  They jumped to a 15-6 lead.  Brandi Simonsen served two aces.  Tessie Collins had a kill and an ace block.  Madie
Ronnfeldt celebrated two kills and Lexie and Brianne each added one.  The Wild Cats battled back with eight of the next eleven points before a service error turned the ball over to LDNE.  Brandi and Mickayla Petersen closed out the set with the help of Ronnfeldt and Wakeley kills.   They won 25-18.

The speed round saw Northeast score the first two points.  Cedar Bluffs rallied with a four point run and followed with four of the next six points for an 8-4 lead.  An ace block and two kills by Madie Ronnfeldt pulled the Cougars to within one point.  Brianne Haskell had two kills to tie the game at 9.  Lexie Bacon found the donut hole for a kill for a 10-10 tie, but the Wildcats got two kills before a third attempt went long.  Brianne served up a point with Tessie getting the kill and the game was tied at 12.

An ace block by Cedar Bluffs put the Wild Cats in the driver’s seat with a 13-12 lead.  Maddison Roumph had her second ace of the set for Cedar Bluffs.  Match point was kill that looked long. but was ruled to be a tip.

Cedar Bluffs would lose to Howells-Dodge 3-0 in the district finals to win a trip to State.  Coach Hathaway commented about the EHC  opponent who beat LDNE 2-1, “I wish Howells-Dodge the best at state. They are a team that I think has improved a lot over the season and it will be exciting to see what they can do.”

LDNE 17 12 25 25 12
Cedar Bluffs 25 25 21 18 15

Abby Peterson    12 digs
Brandi Simonsen    3 aces 8  digs
Brianne Haskell   12m kills  35 digs
Kelly Wakeley   14 kill  32 digs
Lexie Bacon  3 kills  19 set assists  17 digs
Madie Ronnfeldt  15 kills  3 blocks  1 set assist  2 digs
Mickayla Petersen  3 blocks   17  set assists   14  digs
Tessie Collins 4 kills   2 blocks  3 digs

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Lady Cougars Earn Ninth Place in EHC Tournament

October 20, 2015 Leave a comment


By Clare Wiltse, Sports Contributor

The Lady Cougars went on a roll at the EHC Conference Volleyball Tournament.  After losing the first match against West Point-Beemer Northeast went into the loser’s bracket.  In these consolation games LDNE picked up three straight wins and claim ninth place in the tournament.

The Cougars did all this without starting outside hitter Brianne Haskell.  Brianne was attending the Global World Food Prize Youth Institute in Des Moines.

“Our team is so amazing to work with,” said Coach Angela Hathaway. “The remaining 9 girls that we had for the Conference Tournament pulled together, adjusted, and did all that I asked of them. We had to move a few girls around and play a freshmen that didn’t have much experience, but the girls all play well together and that translated throughout the games. “

After dropping their match to the Cadets in straight sets Northeast came back with a 25-14, 25-13 conquest of Madison.  They were spurred on by Madie Ronnfeldt who hit 0.545 with 7 kills..  The team hit 0.316 for the match.

Kelly Wakeley gave the team a boost with 11 kills when they defeated Clarkson/Leigh in the consolation semi-finals on Saturday morning.  LDNE put up winning scores of 25-20 and 25-16.  Abby Peterson transitioned from her libero position to play in the front row.

The coach commented, “Kelly is a solid player for us. She stepped up her game with her hitting and her defense. Abby transitioned over to a right side to play in all six rotations. It was fun to watch the girls in some different roles.”

In he finals, the Cougars struggled on the attack against Bancroft-Rosalie as they hit only 0.071 and had 13 hitting errors.  Madie Ronnfeldt had another  outstanding game with 5 kills and 11 digs

“Madie stepped up her game for both games. Her defense and offense were on point. We did have some hitting errors but our defense backed us up.,” said the Coach.

Earlier in the week the Cougar had a home match against North Bend Central..  The C-1 rated Tigers overpowered Northeast in three straight  games, 25 too 10, 21, and 18.  The Cougars attack was led by Kelly Wakeley with 7 kills and Tessie Collins with 5.

NBC 25 25 25
LDNE 10 21 18

Abby Peterson  5 digs
Brandi Simonsen  1 dig
Brianne Haskell   3 kills   9 digs
Kelly Wakeley  7 kills   9 digs
Lexie Bacon  1 kill  7 set  assists  9 digs
Madie Ronnfeldt  4 kills  1 dig
Mickayla Petersen  2 kills    11 set assists  4 digs
Tessie Collins   5 kills   1 dig

East Husker Tournament

WP-B 25 25
LDNE 14 10

Abby Peterson  1 kill 4 digs
Brandi Simonsen  1 dig
Kelly Wakeley  3 kills   10 digs
Lexie Bacon  2 kills  6 set  assists  2 digs
Madie Ronnfeldt  1 kill  1 kill  6 dig
Mickayla Petersen  1 kill   1 dig
Tessie Collins   2 kills

LDNE 25 25
Madison 14 14

Abby Peterson  1 kill 5 digs
Brandi Simonsen  5 digs
Kelly Wakeley  4 kills   8 digs
Lexie Bacon  14 set  assists  3 digs
Madie Ronnfeldt  1 ace  7 kills   1 block
Mickayla Petersen  1 ace  2 kills  1 dig
Sophia Henneman  4 aces
Tessie Collins   2 kills   2 blocks   6 digs

LDNE 25 25
C/L 20 16

Abby Peterson  2 kills  1 set assist  4 digs
Brandi Simonsen  10 digs
Kelly Wakeley  1 ace   11 kills   7 digs
Lexie Bacon  1 ace  18 set  assists  6 digs
Madie Ronnfeldt  1 ace  7 kills   1 block    11 digs
Mickayla Petersen   2 kills  1 dig
Sophia Henneman   3 digs
Tessie Collins    1 ace     3 digs

LDNE 25 25
B-R 17 21

Abby Peterson  1 kill    1 block   1 set assist  8 digs
Brandi Simonsen  3 digs
Kelly Wakeley   3  kills   9 digs
Lexie Bacon  2 aces  13 set  assists  9 digs
Madie Ronnfeldt  1 ace  5 kills   1 block    11 digs
Mickayla Petersen   1 ace   4 kills  1 set assist
Sophia Henneman   1 ace
Tessie Collins    4 kill   2 blocks   1 set assists   5 digs

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Lady Cougars Improve on Record

October 6, 2015 Leave a comment


By Clare Wiltse, Sports Contributor

It was a busy week for the Northeast  Lady Cougars.  LDNE had seven matches and were able to win four of them.  They have a record of 9-13

Tuesday they journeyed to Wisner for a double triangular competition which put them up against Howells-Dodge and Madison.  The Lady Jaguars are a top ten team in D-1 with a 12-5 record and the Cougars took them to a third game before falling, 2-1.  Northeast out hit Howells-Dodge 38 to 31 in kills and had 7 ace serves to three for H-D.  Brianne Haskell had a match high 14 kills.

Madison with a 2-14 record was a tune up game before they  took on Howells-Dodge.  Northeast swept them 2-0.  Both setters,  Lexie and Mickayla had 11 set assists.

Thursday took the girls to Boys Town  where they beat the hosts in straight sets, 25-7 and 25-12.  They had 13 ace serves against the (6-12) Cowgirls.  Lexie Bacon had 5.

The main event was the contest against (15-4) Cedar Bluffs.  The Wildcats were rated in the top ten in D-1 and lead the Cougars’ sub-district in power points.  After losing the first set, the Cougars came back with a 25-17 win and finished them off 25-22.

“It was a great match up for us. We have had a lot of close games that have not ended in our favor. Cedar Bluffs is a good team and it was a great win for our girls,” said Coach Hathaway.  “We have a possibility to meet up again with Cedar Bluffs. We know we have the capabilities to win that game and it will be a battle. “

Saturday was the Clarkson Tournament.  The Cougars started the brackets against Clarkson/Leigh.  The second match of the season the (7-10)  Patriots took the Cougars to a five set match.  This time the Cougars won easily taking 25-9 and 25-22 wins.

In the semi-finals Northeast took on David City Aquinas.  The (7-7) Monarchs lost four of their first five matches.  They are six and three since then with two losses to rated teams. LDNE took the first game 25-21, but lost 25-18 and 25-19 in the next two.  Both Brianne Haskell and Kelly Wakeley had 9 kills.

Northeast finished in fourth place after losing to Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family 2-0.  The (13-6) Bulldogs have beaten Northeast twice this season with their tall front line.

Northeast has a road match at (2-19) Logan View and will host (10-10) Bancroft-Rosalie this  week.

“B-R is a good team. We are excited to play B-R because we are a fairly evenly matched team. It will be a good match for sure and I believe that defense will be the key to winning that game,” said the Coach.

Next week they will have their last home match when (15-3) North Bend Central come to Lyons.  The Tigers are rated in C-1.  It will be another tough match for the girls.  Coach Hathaway commented,  “I think our schedule helps us out quite a bit. We don’t play “easy” teams by any means. Our schedule is challenging which is what our program need in order to move forward. ”

The EHC tournament starts October 15 with the Cougars being seeded tenth in the sixteen team league.

Wisner Double Triangular

26-24  LDNE
25-23  H-D
25-22  H-D

Abby Peterson  15 digs
Brandi Simonsen  2 aces
Brianne Haskell  1 ace  14 kills  1 block  18 digs
Kelly Wakeley  9 kills  20 digs
Lexie Bacon   18 set assists  13 digs
Madie Ronnfeldt  2 aces  5 kills  1 block  4 digs
Mickayla Petersen  1 ace   4 kills  2 blocks  12 set assists  9 digs
Sophia Henneman  1 ace   1 dig
Tessie Collins  6 kills  1 dig

25-20  LDNE
25-14  LDNE

Abby Peterson  17 digs
Brandi Simonsen  1 dig
Brianne Haskell  1 ace  8 kills  8 digs
Kelly Wakeley  1 ace   5 kills  14digs
Lexie Bacon 1 kill  11 set assists  2 digs
Libby Henneman  1 set assist  2  digs
Madie Ronnfeldt   4 kills  1 block  1 dig
Mickayla Petersen  12 aces   2 kills   11 set assists  3 digs
Tessie Collins  4 kills   1 set assist  1 dig

Boys Town Double Triangular

25-18  CB
25-17  LDNE
25-22  LDNE

Abby Peterson  21 digs
Brandi Simonsen  3 digs
Brianne Haskell     5 kills   14 digs
Kelly Wakeley  1 ace  10 kills  18 digs
Lexie Bacon   18 set assists  16 digs
Madie Ronnfeldt    6 kills  3 blocks  2 digs
Mickayla Petersen   5 kills  3 blocks  12 set assists  9 digs
Sophia Henneman  2 digs
Tessie Collins  6 kills  1 block  3 digs

25-7    LDNE
25-12  LDNE

Abby Peterson  3 digs
Brandi Simonsen  1 ace  3 digs
Brianne Haskell  3 aces  3 kills  7 digs
Kelly Wakeley  1 ace   4 kills  8 digs
Lexie Bacon  5 aces  2 kills 10 set assists  4 digs
Madie Ronnfeldt  3 kills  1 block
Mickayla Petersen     1 kill  1 block  6 set assists  1 dig
Sophia Henneman  2 ace s  2 dig
Tessie Collins  5 kills  2 blocks   1 set assist

Clarkson Tournament

25-9    LDNE
25-22  LDNE

Abby Peterson  11 digs
Brandi Simonsen   2 digs
Brianne Haskell  4 kills  1 block  10 digs
Kelly Wakeley  1 ace   6 kills  4 digs
Lexie Bacon  3 aces  7 set assists  3 digs
Madie Ronnfeldt  3 kills  4 blocks  1 dig
Mickayla Petersen  2 kills  2 blocks 8 set assists  4 digs
Tessie Collins  2 kills  2 blocks

25-21  DCA
25-18  LDNE
25-19  DCA

Abby Peterson  1 set assist 18 digs
Brandi Simonsen   3 digs
Brianne Haskell   9 kills  12 digs
Kelly Wakeley  1 ace   9 kills  20 digs
Lexie Bacon  1 ace  1 kill  18 set assists  6 digs
Madie Ronnfeldt  3 kills  2 block  s  6 digs
Mickayla Petersen  7 kills 11 set assists  9 digs
Sophia Henneman  2 digs
Tessie Collins  4 kills  1 block   1 dig

25-20  HLHF
25-20  HLHF

Abby Peterson  8 digs
Brianne Haskell   1 ace  8 kills  9 digs
Kelly Wakeley  1 ace   6 kills  9 digs
Lexie Bacon  13 set assists  3 digs
Madie Ronnfeldt  3 kills  1 block   1 digs
Mickayla Petersen  2 kills  5 set assists
Sophia Henneman  1 dig
Tessie Collins  2 kills  1 block   1 dig

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