District championship sets up first round game against 23-3 Centura
For the second year in a row, fans of Wolfpack basketball will be heading to Lincoln to watch their favorite team play.
This year, the girls team takes center stage as Elgin Public-Pope John will be competing in the Class D-1 Girls State Basketball Tournament.
Sporting a 21-4 record, the #7 seed Wolfpack will face #2 seed Centura at the Devaney Sports Center Wednesday night. Tip-off will be at 6 p.m.
EPPJ earned their trip to state Friday night with a 49 to 45 victory over Maywood/Hayes Center. Centura punched their ticket to state with a 61 to 32 victory over Nebraska Christian.
Coached by Randy Eisenhauer, the Wolfpack enter the game tournament with a five-game winning streak. They’re averaging 54 points per game while allowing opponents just under 37 points per game.
Juniors Keyera Eisenhauer and Ashlynne Charf enter the game as the team’s top two scorers, each averaging 12 points per game. Seven other members of the team average five points or more per game.
The Wolfpack’s losses during the season came against Plainview, Alma, Niobrara-Verdigre and state tournament qualifier O’Neill St. Mary’s.
Centura, coached by Laethion Brown, are winners of their last six games. They are averaging 52 points per game while giving up 33 on defense.
For the Centurions, they are led by 6’ senior Sydney Davis who is averaging over 15 points and seven rebounds per game. Junior Kyra Wooden is the only other player in double figures, averaging 10 points and a team-high three assists per game.
Among the highlights of Centura’s season was a 33 to 23 victory over #1 seed Ravenna in the subdistrict final. Twice earlier in the season, they lost to Ravenna. Their other loss during the season was to state tournament qualifier Gothenburg by the score of 69 to 36.
The two teams had one common opponent during the season – Central Valley. EPPJ won their matchup 69 to 30. Centura also won their game against Central Valley, the final score read 64 to 26. Central Valley finished the season with a 7-14 record.
The last time Centura played in the state tournament was in 2011. For the Wolfpack, the last time they played at state was in 2017.
The winner of Wednesday’s game will advance to a Friday morning matchup against the winner of Johnson-Brock and Hartington Cedar Catholic. Teams in the other half of the draw are Ravenna, S-E-M, Hastings SC and Elmwood-Murdock.
