The Cross County girls basketball coach plans to retire after this season, and he entered the year with 386 career wins.

No. 400 loomed on the horizon, but Samuelson felt it was far from a sure thing.

"I thought at the start of the year that it could be a tough season," he said. "I put (getting win No. 400) out of my mind.

"As the season went on, the girls kept winning."

The Cougars won enough that they helped Samuelson earn that special 400th victory Jan. 31 with a 60-33 win at High Plains.

Samuelson's overall career record stands at 400-196. He has been at Stromsburg/Cross County since 1981 and has a 327-150 record.

Prior to that, the Harvard High School graduate started up the girls basketball program at Anselmo-Merna and coached there for six years.

"I credit every player who has played for me," Samuelson said. "I put them on the floor and they win. I prepare them as much as I can, but once the game starts it's up to them."

Obviously Samuelson, the community of Stromsburg and the Stromsburg/Cross County schools have been a perfect fit for two and a half decades.

"When we moved here, my oldest daughter (Amy) was in seventh grade, so I was able to coach her," he said. "The girls have been absolutely super. I could not have asked for anything better. They're great athletes and they put in the time to get better in the summer."

This year's edition of the Cougars sit at 14-3. Their surprising success en route to Samuelson's special win can be credited to the seniors.

"We start five seniors, and all five of them have been super leaders," Samuelson said. "I could not ask for better workers. They all have a positive attitude, and the underclassmen have picked up on that."

Megan Allison, a Concordia recruit, easily leads the area with 26.1 points per game and has scored over 1,400 points in her career. She also pulls down 10.1 rebounds.

"Megan is not only our leader on offense but also on defense," Samuelson said.

Point guard Courtney Dravitzki, 3-point threat Kirby Newcomer, solid defender Megan Brooke and center Edie Nickel round out the starting seniors.

Junior Melanie Baker has also given the team key minutes off the bench.

Cross County has won four in a row heading into key back-to-back games tonight and Friday with Class C-2 No. 9-rated (Omaha World-Herald) East Butler and Twin River, which beat the Cougars for the Central Eight Conference Tournament title.

"We're starting to click," Samuelson said. "After Christmas we went into a lull. We'd have one good game and then in the next two we wouldn't play as well.

"We have two tough games before subdistricts. East Butler and Twin River are two tough teams. Even if we don't win, we'll be ready for districts."

And you can bet that the Cougars won't mind adding quite a few more wins to their coach's total before the season is over.

Subdistricts look

It's hard to believe, but some teams will see their seasons end as soon as Monday. Subdistricts tip off next week for the four smaller classes.

Here's just a few things to keep an eye on as the postseason rolls around:

* Hottest teamsRavenna may have a modest four-game win streak heading into two key games to close out the regular season, but it's safe to think that no one wants to face the Bluejays in the postseason.

Ravenna looked impressive while beating Class C-1 No. 5 St. Paul and Class B No. 10 Adams Central en route to the Lou-Platte Conference Tournament title last week. With rematches against those two teams set up for the next two nights, the Bluejays have the opportunity to build strong momentum heading into a tough subdistrict.

Then there's North Loup-Scotia. Any time a team is 17-1 and hasn't lost since Dec. 27, it's ready for the postseason.

* Most battle tested teamGrand Island Central Catholic finds itself in a tough subdistrict with Ravenna and Blue Hill, but the Crusaders should be prepared.

The Crusaders (16-6) have nine games against teams with 14 or more wins. GICC has beaten Ravenna, St. Paul, C-1 No. 10 Columbus Scotus and D-1 No. 9 Fremont Bergan; split against C-1 No. 8 Kearney Catholic; and lost to C-1 No. 7 Minden, Blue Hill (16-3), B No. 5 Holdrege, B No. 10 Adams Central and C-1 No. 3 Wahoo Neumann.

* Top potential rematchPlenty of good games could be in rerun mode once the postseason comes around.

But one that stands out could come at Grand Island Senior High. C-1 No. 5 St. Paul and No. 7 Minden could face off in a rematch of a game that St. Paul won on the road 54-48 on Jan. 15.

Of course, Hastings St. Cecilia the team that kept St. Paul from the state tournament last year wouldn't mind derailing this rematch.

* Most wide-open subdistrictLast year Palmer got hot at the right time and made it to state with a 10-12 record.

This year the Tigers are again part of a subdistrict in which there's no clear-cut favorite. Heartland Lutheran (3-14), Nebraska Christian (2-15), Osceola (8-10), Palmer (5-12) and Shelby (1-16) make up the Class D-1, Subdistrict 5 tournament.

Contrast that to the other side of the district, which includes No. 2 Humphrey St. Francis, No. 3 Humphrey and No. 6 Elgin Pope John. The D-1, Subdistrict 5 winner would have to earn its Cinderella slipper to make it to state.

Dale Miller covers girls basketball for The Independent.