Knights power past Bobcats in Region IX Championship

North Platte, Neb. – Five players finished in double digits to power North Platte to an 88-57 win in the Region IX Championship on Saturday afternoon.

Dazjanae Greene led the Knights with 19 points on 9-of-18 shooting from the field. She grabbed seven rebounds, two steals and two assists in 31 minutes.

Samantha Riggles chipped in 17 points and five rebounds, while Jada Grigsby added 13 points, four assists and one steal against the Bobcats. Nariah Golden and Reece Halley rounded out the North Platte players in double figures with 12 and 10 points respectively.

North Platte leapt out to a 24-18 lead at the end of the opening ten minutes as teams vied for the momentum early. Southeast rallied to open the second quarter, as a 7-0 run pushed the Bobcats into the lead. Greene brought the crowd to their feet with three straight layups to spark a 19-3 run to help the Knights carry a 51-33 lead into the halftime break.

Southeast narrowed the margin to 54-47 with 4:20 to play in the third quarter, but North Platte answered with another long run to push their lead to 74-49 on a jumper by Mariah Gardner. Knights continued to cruise in the final 6:48 of the final quarter to earn Jeff Thurman his 100^th career win.

North Platte connected on 45.8 percent (38-83) of their shots from the field, while dominating on the boards, 50-33. Knights forced 22 Bobcat turnovers as all active players contributed in the win.  

Knights advance to the North Central A District Championship to take on the winner of the Region 11 postseason tournament on Saturday, March 9.