Gretna East stymies Lincoln Pius X in upset fashion in Class B tournament

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – The No. 7-seeded Gretna East girls basketball team pulled off the upset Thursday, downing No. 2 Lincoln Pius X 35-28 in the Class B state tournament at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

The Dragons played stellar defense all night long, holding the Thunderbolts to just 23% shooting from the floor and 9% from beyond the arc.

At the break, Pius X held an 18-13 lead. But the Dragons outscored the ‘Bolts 14-2 in the third quarter to establish their lead.

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Pius was led by senior shooting guard Hannah Bedient with 10 points on 4-for-10 shooting. Bedient also grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds.

The trio of Ava Markowski, Keeleigh Knobbe and Kate Miller combined for 6 points on 2-for-22 shooting.

Gretna East was led by Karli Williams, with 12 points and nine rebounds. Sonora Defini also had 10 points for the Dragons.

With the win, Gretna East tallied just its second state tournament victory in school history.

The Dragons will play the winner of No. 3 Waverly vs. No. 6 York in the semifinals on Friday at PBA.

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