Bishop Neumann defeats Cross County 61-40
Cross County seniors Lilly Peterson (left) and Shyanne Anderson were overcome with emotions at the end of Wednesday's contest. The duo, along with Addie Linn, are the first set of Cross County seniors to lead to Cougars to State in back-to-back seasons. PCN photos by Rick Holtz-
Shyanne Anderson connected on 4 of her 6 free throw attempts. PCN photos by Rick Holtz
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Bricelynn Larson finished 12 points, grabbed 6 rebounds, had 3 blocks and 3 steals. PCN photos by Rick Holtz
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Lindee Kelley looks to trap Bishop Neumann freshman Graycen Cernik in the second half of Wednesday's game. PCN photos by Rick Holtz
LINCOLN — The Cougars saw their season come to an abrupt ending on Wednesday, being upset in the opening round of the Class C2 2024 NSAA State Girls Basketball Championships.
Bishop Neumann used its speed and a stingy defense en route to a 61-40 win over Cross County (23-4). The Cavaliers advanced to Friday’s semifinal, when they took on top-seeded Yutan, who defeated Niobrara/Verdigre 60-28 in the opening round. Yutan defeated Bishop Neumann 45-39 on Friday and went on to defeat Crofton 55-36 on Saturday to win the state title. Bishop Neuman finished 3rd, defeating Elmwood-Murdock 61-59 on Saturday in the consolation game.
“I was a little surprised at how high scoring this thing got,” Cross County coach Mitch Boshart said. “I thought it was going to be a knockdown, drag out, first time to 30 wins.”
Cross County would strike first on Wednesday. Junior Bricelynn Larson stole the ball and took the ball in for a layup, giving the Cougars its only lead of the game.
“They were 18-6 coming in,” Boshart said of Bishop Neumann. “They play in a phenomenal conference. A lot of their opponents got to Lincoln. They play an incredible style of basketball. It is physical and aggressive. They scored inside and they got high percentage shots.”
The Cavaliers scored 12 unanswered over a five-minute span. Seniors Lilly Peterson and Shyanne Anderson combined to close out the quarter on an 8-2 run over the final 2:57 of the opening quarter.
Cross County would cut the deficit to one point midway through the second quarter, but Bishop Neumann responded with an 8-0 run of their own to retake control of the contest.
“At halftime we were not really worried about the deficit,” Cross County coach Mitch Boshart said. “We talked about how we battled back with that first early deficit from 10-2. The girls were fighting. We knew we were going to see the 1-3-1 in the second half. They did a good job moving around. They were trapping well. We didn’t have the answers we were looking for.”
The Cavaliers used the second half to push their lead to double digits and the Cougar offense never put together a run that had made them successful all season.
“We have seen deficits before,” Boshart said. “The girls always fight. They fought today. We had too many turnovers, and (Bishop Neumann) made plays.”
Cross County’s offense was limited to just the trio of Anderson, Larson and Peterson. Anderson led the way with a game-high 19 points to go along with her 4 assists. Larson added 12 points, grabbed 6 rebounds, had 3 blocks and 3 steals. Peterson finished with 9 points.
Cross County shot 41 percent from the field, connecting on 12 of their 19 shots from inside the three-point arch. They connected on just 4-of-20 long-range attempts. The Cougars turned the ball over 25 times.
Only two Cougars outside of Anderson, Larson and Peterson attempted a shot in the contest.
Bishop Neumann had nine different players score in the contest. The Cavaliers were led by Adalin Bosak’s 12-point performance. Jillian Johnson and Bridget Whitney each finished with 10 points. Caitlin McGuigan finished with 9 points.
Wednesday’s loss comes nearly a year to the day of Cross County’s 49-27 loss to Crofton in the opening round of State. This season was all about getting back to Lincoln.
“It’s a fun atmosphere,” he said. “The girls enjoy coming down here. They now have experienced it twice. They know what they are getting into. These girls, most of them lived most of their lives until last year not realizing what it took to get here. And now we have gotten here twice. So, we know the door is open and we know the routine and the pattern to get here. Now it is a matter of maintaining it.”
Wednesday’s loss to Bishop Neumann closes the book on the high school careers of Cross County’s three seniors, Anderson, Peterson and Addie Linn.
“They have been seniors for us the last two years,” Boshart said. “We didn’t have a senior on the team (last year). They have shown a lot of leadership . . . Shyanne Anderson, you can write a book about all the stuff she has done in her career. Lilly Peterson does not get quite the notoriety as far as what she has done statistic wise, but as far as leadership goes, she is somebody that I have pushed. I’ve pushed Lilly Peterson harder than any player I have pushed over a four-year span, and she has answered the call every single time. Addie Linn is not one who sees the floor a lot, but it is what she brings to the team as far as leadership, teamwork, and effort. I hope she gets into coaching. She is going to be a good one someday. It’s an awesome, awesome group of girls.
“They fight,” Boshart said. “That’s one thing this group is always going to be known for, their no-quit attitude.”
BN 14 16 14 17 — 61
CC 10 11 7 12 — 40
Cross County: Anderson 19, Larson 12, Peterson 9.
Bishop Neumann: Bosak 12, Johnson 10, Whitney 10, McGuigan 9, Blum 7, Cernik 6, Keith 3, Theiele 2, Milliken 2.
