Beatrice’s Nevaeh Martinez, Mak Hatcliff, and Chelsea Leners head to the bench after the Bennington Badgers defeat the Beatrice Lady O, 53-48, in the B7 Final on Saturday, February 20, 2021, in Beatrice, Neb.
Beatrice’s Mak Hatcliff (left) attempts to steal the ball as the Bennington Badgers defeat the Beatrice Lady O, 53-48, in the B7 Final on Saturday, February 20, 2021, in Beatrice, Neb.
Beatrice’s Riley Schwisow reaches for the ball as the Bennington Badgers defeat the Beatrice Lady O, 53-48, in the B7 Final on Saturday, February 20, 2021, in Beatrice, Neb.
Beatrice’s Nevaeh Martinez shoots from the middle of the lane as the Bennington Badgers defeat the Beatrice Lady O, 53-48, in the B7 Final on Saturday, February 20, 2021, in Beatrice, Neb.
Beatrice’s Avery Barnard (2) dribbles around a defender as the Bennington Badgers defeat the Beatrice Lady O, 53-48, in the B7 Final on Saturday, February 20, 2021, in Beatrice, Neb.
Beatrice’s Chelsea Leners shoots from three point range as the Bennington Badgers defeat the Beatrice Lady O, 53-48, in the B7 Final on Saturday, February 20, 2021, in Beatrice, Neb.
The Beatrice student section reacts to a three pointer as the Bennington Badgers defeat the Beatrice Lady O, 53-48, in the B7 Final on Saturday, February 20, 2021, in Beatrice, Neb.
Beatrice head coach Jalen Weeks reacts after a play during the first half as the Bennington Badgers defeat the Beatrice Lady O, 53-48, in the B7 Final on Saturday, February 20, 2021, in Beatrice, Neb.
Beatrice’s Riley Schwisow drives toward the basket during the first quarter as the Bennington Badgers defeat the Beatrice Lady O, 53-48, in the B7 Final on Saturday, February 20, 2021, in Beatrice, Neb.
The Beatrice bench reacts after a three-point basket as the Bennington Badgers defeat the Beatrice Lady O, 53-48, in the B7 Final on Saturday, February 20, 2021, in Beatrice, Neb.
Beatrice’s Mak Hatcliff and Morgan Mahoney react after a foul call as the Bennington Badgers defeat the Beatrice Lady O, 53-48, in the B7 Final on Saturday, February 20, 2021, in Beatrice, Neb.
Beatrice’s Riley Schwisow shoots a three pointer in the fourth quarer the Bennington Badgers defeat the Beatrice Lady O, 53-48, in the B7 Final on Saturday, February 20, 2021, in Beatrice, Neb.
Beatrice’s Mak Hatcliff looks at the defense as the Bennington Badgers defeat the Beatrice Lady O, 53-48, in the B7 Final on Saturday, February 20, 2021, in Beatrice, Neb.
Beatrice’s Riley Schwisow yells to her teammates as the Bennington Badgers defeat the Beatrice Lady O, 53-48, in the B7 Final on Saturday, February 20, 2021, in Beatrice, Neb.
Beatrice’s Riley Schwisow drives toward the basket during the first quarter as the Bennington Badgers defeat the Beatrice Lady O, 53-48, in the B7 Final on Saturday, February 20, 2021, in Beatrice, Neb.
Beatrice’s Chelsea Leners draws a foul on this shot attempt as the Bennington Badgers defeat the Beatrice Lady O, 53-48, in the B7 Final on Saturday, February 20, 2021, in Beatrice, Neb.
Beatrice’s Nevaeh Martinez drives in for a layup as the Bennington Badgers defeat the Beatrice Lady O, 53-48, in the B7 Final on Saturday, February 20, 2021, in Beatrice, Neb.
Beatrice’s Chelsea Leners finds room to shoot during the second half as the Bennington Badgers defeat the Beatrice Lady O, 53-48, in the B7 Final on Saturday, February 20, 2021, in Beatrice, Neb.
Beatrice’s Riley Schwisow directs the Lady O offense as the Bennington Badgers defeat the Beatrice Lady O, 53-48, in the B7 Final on Saturday, February 20, 2021, in Beatrice, Neb.
Beatrice’s Riley Schwisow drives into the lane as the Bennington Badgers defeat the Beatrice Lady O, 53-48, in the B7 Final on Saturday, February 20, 2021, in Beatrice, Neb.
Beatrice’s Avery Barnard shoots over a defender as the Bennington Badgers defeat the Beatrice Lady O, 53-48, in the B7 Final on Saturday, February 20, 2021, in Beatrice, Neb.
Beatrice’s Hailey Schaaf shoots from the corner as the Bennington Badgers defeat the Beatrice Lady O, 53-48, in the B7 Final on Saturday, February 20, 2021, in Beatrice, Neb.
Beatrice’s Mak Hatcliff shoots over a defender as the Bennington Badgers defeat the Beatrice Lady O, 53-48, in the B7 Final on Saturday, February 20, 2021, in Beatrice, Neb.
Beatrice’s Mak Hatcliff passes the ball upcourt as the Bennington Badgers defeat the Beatrice Lady O, 53-48, in the B7 Final on Saturday, February 20, 2021, in Beatrice, Neb.
Beatrice’s Mak Hatcliff shoots a three pointer during the second quarter as the Bennington Badgers defeat the Beatrice Lady O, 53-48, in the B7 Final on Saturday, February 20, 2021, in Beatrice, Neb.
Beatrice’s Mak Hatcliff drives toward the basket as the Bennington Badgers defeat the Beatrice Lady O, 53-48, in the B7 Final on Saturday, February 20, 2021, in Beatrice, Neb.
Beatrice’s Mak Hatcliff (middle) looks for room to dribble as the Bennington Badgers defeat the Beatrice Lady O, 53-48, in the B7 Final on Saturday, February 20, 2021, in Beatrice, Neb.
Beatrice’s Riley Schwisow (left) grabs a loose ball as the Bennington Badgers defeat the Beatrice Lady O, 53-48, in the B7 Final on Saturday, February 20, 2021, in Beatrice, Neb.
Beatrice head coach Jalen Weeks communicates with his players on the court as the Bennington Badgers defeat the Beatrice Lady O, 53-48, in the B7 Final on Saturday, February 20, 2021, in Beatrice, Neb.
The Beatrice bench reacts after a Lady O basket as the Bennington Badgers defeat the Beatrice Lady O, 53-48, in the B7 Final on Saturday, February 20, 2021, in Beatrice, Neb.
Beatrice’s Mak Hatcliff fights for a loose ball as the Bennington Badgers defeat the Beatrice Lady O, 53-48, in the B7 Final on Saturday, February 20, 2021, in Beatrice, Neb.
Beatrice’s Riley Schwisow reacts after a foul call as the Bennington Badgers defeat the Beatrice Lady O, 53-48, in the B7 Final on Saturday, February 20, 2021, in Beatrice, Neb.
Beatrice’s Avery Barnard (left) drives in for a layup as the Bennington Badgers defeat the Beatrice Lady O, 53-48, in the B7 Final on Saturday, February 20, 2021, in Beatrice, Neb.
Beatrice’s Nevaeh Martinez (42) shoots over a defender during the first quarter as the Bennington Badgers defeat the Beatrice Lady O, 53-48, in the B7 Final on Saturday, February 20, 2021, in Beatrice, Neb.
Beatrice’s Nevaeh Martinez jumps for the opening tipoff between the Bennington Badgers and the Beatrice Lady O in the B7 Final on Saturday, February 20, 2021, in Beatrice, Neb.
Beatrice’s Riley Schwisow (4) smiles during player introductions prior to tipoff between the Bennington Badgers and the Beatrice Lady O in the B7 Final on Saturday, February 20, 2021, in Beatrice, Neb.
Beatrice’s Nevaeh Martinez (left) and Mak Hatcliff (right) run onto the court prior to tipoff between the Bennington Badgers and the Beatrice Lady O in the B7 Final on Saturday, February 20, 2021, in Beatrice, Neb.
Beatrice’s Nevaeh Martinez and Mak Hatcliff head to the bench after the Bennington Badgers defeat the Beatrice Lady O, 53-48, in the B7 Final on Saturday, February 20, 2021, in Beatrice, Neb.
BEATRICE — It probably did feel like Christmas a little bit for the Bennington girls basketball team Saturday.
For the first time since the holiday tournament, the Class B No. 10 Badgers had all five starters healthy and playing together.
Now they’re heading to Pinnacle Bank Arena.
In a matchup where every second-half possession felt critical, Bennington outlasted No. 6 Beatrice 53-48 in the B-7 district final and punched its ticket to the Class B state tournament for a second straight year.
Junior Abby Boyes, the Badgers’ lead scorer, returned to the lineup for the first time in two weeks. She finished with 14 points and hit three three-pointers in the third quarter.
Junior Taylor Sedlacek had 11 points, including a pair of threes in the first half to help Bennington shake off a slow start. But a big impact came from the Badgers’ two seniors — Maddy Elwood and Katie Dall — who used their voices to keep the team poised in a tight ballgame, coach John O’Connor said.
“Katie is a big leader on the bench and Maddy is a huge leader on the court, and we just kept saying in the huddle, 'Hey, stay calm. We need to focus,'" said Sedlacek, a junior. "That was huge for us through the last 30 seconds."
Beatrice got to within 41-40 on a bucket in traffic from senior Mak Hatcliff with 2 minutes, 30 seconds remaining.
But Bennington (14-10) didn’t buckle. It hit 15 of 23 free throws in the fourth quarter. Elwood, who finished with a game-high 15 points, hit four key free throws late.
"I was just thinking that I’ve done this every day in practice," she said. "I shoot free throws every day and this is just another free throw."
The game featured 46 fouls, which tested how Bennington and Beatrice like to play defense.
O’Connor said playing in a physical conference like the Eastern Midlands Conference, which had all six teams in Saturday’s district finals, helped the Badgers persevere Saturday. They also had to overcome losing two post players — juniors Alison Mack and Emma John — to fouls in the fourth quarter.
The Badgers knew they’d be in for a battle against the Lady Orange.
"Everyone’s like, 'Hey, we had a hard EMC conference and we played with everyone in the conference,' and we said we had to show up for this game, for our seniors,” Sedlacek said. "The EMC definitely prepared us up until now."
O’Connor said the lineup was fluid all season as players battled illnesses and injuries. But that also helped the Badgers.
"We had quite a few girls step up," Elwood said. "We had some young girls make big plays and that family aspect of everyone is rooting for each other and we had each other’s backs."
Hatcliff had 13 points for Beatrice, which closed its season at 13-5. Beatrice coach Jalen Weeks said he was proud of his team, including the six seniors.
"Their leadership and impact on our program has really put us at another step forward and can’t thank them enough," Weeks said. "Those seniors showed our underclassmen what leadership is about and hopefully it can help them do some of those things to get us back to the state tournament next year."
