By Bob Gonderinger
sports.desk@theindependent.com

But the thing that you have to remember is that all those wins not only came from scoring points, but by preventing other teams from doing so as well.

Kearney overcame a tough night offensively to advance to the state tournament as it defeated Grand Island 34-27 in the finals of the Class A, District 7 tournament.

Islander coach Kelli Jeffries noted that her team expected a tough game defensively, and that's exactly what materialized.

"If you would have told me before the game that we'd hold them to 34, I would have taken that in a heartbeat," she said. "We told the girls that it was going to be a possession game, and that means every turnover, foul or free throw is important. We just didn't get a lot of shots tonight. We're stronger in the post than they are, but we weren't able to get a lot of production out of Stacia (Robertson).

"We felt good about things at half. We were trying to make some offensive adjustments, and of course they changed some things on defense. We did the right things on offense, but we just didn't get a lot of shots. A lot of loose balls seemed to go Kearney's way tonight, and we didn't get a lot of second-shot opportunities. In a game like this those are gold."

On a night when each half court possession was a struggle, the Bearcats made their mark with the transition game. That came to the fore in the third period, as Kearney expanded a two-point lead with a pair of fast breaks that twice saw guard Nicole Arp deliver precision passes to Maggie Maher for the buckets.

In the fourth quarter, when Kearney's points came almost exclusively at the free throw line, the exception came on an inbounds play when Maher broke behind the defense to take the lob and score.

"I think our three quarter court defense in the third helped a lot," Kearney coach Eric Kitzelman said. "That got us some steals and transition baskets, and that ultimately was the difference in the game. Down the stretch, though, every time we could ice the game at the line, we'd miss shots and they started to score a lot faster."

Kearney (22-3) made a breakaway attempt in the first half, as the Bearcats dominated the second quarter with a 9-1 run. Nicole Arp started the run with a pass inside to Jenna Epley, then Maher converted an offensive rebound into a length of the court basket. Makayla Gowen responded for Grand Island (13-10) late in the half as she bulled her way inside for a basket, then added a free throw moments later to cut the lead to a more manageable four points at intermission.

Robertson finally got her first bucket of the game early in the third as the Islanders trailed by two, but the Bearcats decision to move their defense upcourt paid big dividends. As the fourth quarter unfolded, the Bearcats lived at the line, but Kearney convered only 8-of-22 shots at the stripe, allowing the Islanders to stay within theoretical striking distance. Ariel Krolikowski scored six of her team-high 12 points in the fourth to twice move back within six points, but Kearney was maddeningly patient in the final minutes, forcing the Islanders to foul to preserve the clock.

Jeffries praised her team for a strong season despite losing four starters from last season's team.

"We basically came back with one starter from last year," she said. "We had a lot of holes and a very young team. But we finished with a winning record in Class A and made it to the district final. We had a great January and February - we really played well the second half of he season.

"We had two seniors, Tana (O'Boyle) and Alex (Miller) that will really be missed from this team. They're not only great leaders, but they're probably the hardest workers I have."

At Hastings

KEARNEY 34, GRAND ISLAND 27

GRAND ISLAND (13-10)

Miller 2-6 1-2 6, O'Boyle 0-1 0-2 0, Tomlin 0-5 0-0 0, Krolikowski 6-9 0-0 12, Armes 0-1 0-0 0, Robertson 3-6 0-3 6, Gowen 1-3 1-2 3. Totals 12-31 2-9 27.

KEARNEY (22-3)

Maher 6-8 3-6 15, N. Arp 0-6 5-11 5, Epley 2-2 0-0 4, Winchester 1-1 0-0 2, A. Arp 4-6 0-3 8, Peters 0-1 0-2 0. Totals 13-24 8-22 34.

Grand Island 7 6 4 1027

Kearney 9 8 8 934

3-Point goalsGrand Island 1-9 (Miller 1-4, O'Boyle 0-1, Tomlin 0-4), Kearney 0-2 (N. Arp 0-2). Fouled outGrand Island, O'Boyle. ReboundsGrand Island 17 (Robertson 6), Kearney 22 (A. Arp 10). AssistsGrand Island 7 (O'Boyle 3, Tomlin 3), Kearney 9 (N. Arp 5). TurnoversGrand Island 14, Kearney 11. Total foulsGrand Island 20, Kearney 8. TechnicalsNone.