Crete dominates second half, defeats Beatrice for first girls' state title since 1981

LINCOLN - It took Crete (27-1) a combined four overtime periods on Thursday and Friday to reach the championship game.

Once they got there, the Cardinals decided to put the game away early.

Crete, arguably the favorite in Class B all year, outscored No. 2 Beatrice 31-12 in the second half and cruised to a 53-26 win in the NSAA girls' state basketball championship at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Saturday afternoon.

The win gives Crete girls' basketball just its second state title ever and its first since 1981.

In her final game as a Cardinal, senior, Creighton women's basketball signee and 2020 Gatorade Player of the Year Morgan Maly capped a legendary career with a phenomenal performance. She scored a game-high 20 points on 8-of-9 shooting, including 4-of-4 from deep. Maly also collected 10 rebounds and five assists.

"My teammates got me the ball in good position," Maly said. "I wasn't trying to force anything - just letting the game come to me. We didn't want to let up and go into another overtime."

Junior Lexi Mach scored nine points - all in the fourth quarter. Senior and Washburn volleyball signee Ellie Allen had a nice final game with eight points and three blocked shots. She hit 4-of-5 shots from the field Saturday.

Allen, a 6-3 center, blocked a total of 10 shots in the state tournament, giving her 81 on the season.

"Our support this week has been unbelievable," Allen said. "Turning around in the final seconds and seeing everyone standing, it was crazy. The community support we've had this season and last season is unbelievable. I'm really proud Crete has backed us up so well."

Beatrice (22-4), who's now been a runner-up at state four times since 2005, were going blow-for-blow with Crete early on, trailing only 9-7 at the end of the first.

A 10-0 run by the Cardinals midway through the second helped Crete take a 22-14 lead into halftime, and a 32-18 advantage entering the fourth.

The final eight minutes belonged to Crete, as they outscored the Lady O, 21-8, to close the game. The Cards held Beatrice to a season-low scoring output.

"Crete's offense was able to attack a little bit better than ours," Beatrice head coach Jalen Weeks said. "We didn't have any free throw attempts in the first half, and that's kind of a sign that you're passing too much, and not being aggressive enough.

"The girls did about as good as they can defensively, but offensively, we just needed to knock down a few more shots. A big strength of our team has been shooting, and that didn't go today."

Junior Makenzie Hatcliff led Beatrice with 10 points. Senior and Hastings College women's basketball signee Carley Leners dropped in eight. Beatrice struggled to shoot all day, going 10-of-41 from the field and 3-of-26 from three.

"I thought our defense was the key," Crete head coach John Larsen said. "We were able to keep them bailed out of any momentum and any rhythm. They like to shoot the three, and I thought we did a great job getting out on their shooters."

Crete's only loss in 2019-20 was to Beatrice on Feb. 18 in the Class B5 subdistrict final, where Beatrice won in Crete's gym, 39-32.

The Cardinals' main motivation this season was fueled by a 49-43 loss to Grand Island Northwest in the Class B title last March - the exact reason why this season was labeled as "unfinished business."

"(That loss) was the key for us," Larsen said. "Participation this summer was fantastic. We didn't have to round up kids to come to open gym or weight room. They just worked really hard all season. This was their No. 1 goal - to get back here."

Larsen, who coached in his 27th career state tournament this week, won his 10th total championship ring - the previous nine all with Lincoln Southeast, where he last won a title in 2008.

He says Crete's group of seniors, Allen, Maly and Jayda Weyand, made his most recent championship extra special.

"They're great leaders," he said. "They're team oriented. They take care of each other, and that makes my job really, really easy."

Maly, who's had all-state caliber seasons the last two years, credits Larsen for taking a program that was 12-11 two years ago to the top of the podium in 2020.

"He flipped this program around," she said, "and gave us a lot of confidence in ourselves. That's all you can ask for. He puts us in a great position...just a lot of trust, and we're grateful for him."

You can follow Tommy on Twitter @Tommy_NCN.