By Dale Miller
dale.miller@theindependent.com

Strong defense and a solid effort from the free throw line allowed the Islanders to maintain their lead and post a 61-50 win over North Platte in the Class A, District 7 tournament semifinals at Hastings High.

That moved them into Friday's district final against No. 6-rated (Omaha World-Herald) Kearney (20-3), which downed Columbus 44-22 in the first semifinal.

Grand Island never trailed in the game and led 33-19 at halftime. However, the Islanders (12-9) suffered two scoreless spans of nearly four minutes each in the second half.

GISH's defense helped the team withstand the scoreless stretches by never allowing the Bulldogs (14-8) to score more than four unanswered points after halftime.

"Our defense kept us in the game," Islander coach Kelli Jeffries said. "In the first half we played well and took a big lead. If you told me before the game we'd have 33 points in the first half, I'd think it was a great offensive output.

"They picked up the pressure on defense (after halftime) and made it tougher on us."

G.I. didn't score for the first 3 minutes, 40 seconds of the third quarter but only gave up two free throws over that span.

North Platte only managed one basket and two more free throws over another lengthy Islander scoreless stretch that ended with them still up 44-31 with 4:26 remaining.

The Bulldogs got as close as 51-45 on Brooke Weilage's 3-pointer with 1:11 remaining, but free throws sealed the win.

After going 10-for-16 over the first three quarters, Grand Island went 17-for-21 in the fourth. Mackenzie Tomlin, who had 14 points, and Alex Miller each were 6-for-6.

"We hit them when we needed them," Jeffries said. "You never want to go and miss, but if you have a choice of when to hit them you want to do it at the end of the game.

"To be able to win against Kearney, we'll have to knock down our free throw opportunities."

Grand Island didn't show signs of an 11-day layoff early in the game. The Islanders took a 16-9 lead after the first quarter courtesy of a pair of 8-0 runs.

Grand Island hit its first three shots in the game, including two from Stacia Robertson. The sophomore post scored a game-high 17 points and went 7-for-8 from the floor, only missing a 3-point attempt.

"She had a really solid game," Jeffries said. "She got off to a great start and set the tone from the get-go. She had some big steals in the fourth quarter."

With a combined 12 points from Makayla Gowen and Alex Armes off the bench, Jeffries credited the posts for a big role in the win.

She said the quick start and never trailing were big pluses for the first postseason game of the year.

"We had a big layoff before the game, and I was concerned with that," she said. "The start of the game was important. We got off to a quick start and the early lead relaxed us."

To make a return trip to state, Grand Island will need to beat Kearney, which owns two wins over the Islanders this season 55-46 on Jan. 12 and 42-38 on Feb. 2.

"Kearney is a solid team," Jeffries said. "Their strength is their perimeter play. Our strength is our inside play. It'll come down to whoever utilizes (their strength). They'll do a lot of things to keep us from doing that."

GRAND ISLAND SENIOR HIGH 61, NORTH PLATTE 50

NORTH PLATTE (14-8)

Piper 2-4 1-2 5, Voycheske 1-4 1-1 3, Smidt 5-12 6-9 16, Dye 3-5 1-2 7, Matlock 0-3 0-0 0, Woodhead 2-8 0-0 4, Moore 0-1 0-0 0, Weilage 4-7 0-0 11, Hinrichsen 1-1 2-4 4. Totals 18-45 11-18 50.

GRAND ISLAND (12-9)

Robertson 7-8 3-5 17, Miller 1-2 6-6 9, O'Boyle 2-2 0-2 4, Tomlin 2-6 9-9 14, Krolikowski 0-9 5-7 5, Kinne 0-0 0-0 0, Armes 2-2 0-2 4, Gowen 2-5 4-6 8. Totals 16-34 27-37 61.

North Platte 9 10 10 2150

Grand Island 16 17 9 1961

3-point field goalsNorth Platte 3-12 (Piper 0-2, Woodhead 0-3, Weilage 3-4, Smidt 0-3), Grand Island 2-10 (Robertson 0-1, Miller 1-2, Tomlin 1-5, Krolikowski 0-2). Fouled outnone. ReboundsNorth Platte 22 (Smidt, Dye 8), Grand Island 33 (Robertson 8). AssistsNorth Platte 8 (Piper, Voycheske, Dye, Matlock 2), Grand Island 8 (Krolikowski 5). TurnoversNorth Platte 18, Grand Island 20. Total foulsNorth Platte 26, Grand Island 16. Technicalsnone.