Nemaha Central has been a second half team and relied on a strong third quarter this season to propel them to a 21-3 record and spot in the Class 3A State semifinals in Hutchinson for the second time in three years.  However, on Friday, the Thunder could not overcome a slow start and dig out of a hole against the hot-shooting and top seed Cheney.  The Cardinals came out firing and built a 17-6 first quarter advantage and kept rolling into the second stanza and Nemaha used three timeouts in the first 11 minutes of the game to try and stop momentum.  Cheney led 30-14 at halftime, but as expected, the Thunder made a run and got within 32-22 early in the third period.  Unfortunetly, Cheney answered and Nemaha never got any closer before falling 60-48.

Kylee Sheer set a new 3A State Tournament record with 38 points in Cheney's opening round win over Columbus and she hit two early treys to post 10 in the first quarter while finishing with 25 points on Friday.  The Cardinals (23-2) also got 15 points each from their only two seniors on the roster, Destinee O'shea and Layne Needham, and made eight three-pointers while shooting 47 percent and also hitting 12 of 16 free throws to keep Nemaha from making a run in the final stanza.  

Alleigh Kramer came to life after just one point in the first half and finished with 22 points for the game while also leading the team with eight rebounds, four assists and three steals.  Kirsten Lortscher and Jacy Dalinghaus each chipped in 10 points but Nemaha was only 5-19 from the field in the first half and plagued by 21 total turnovers in the contest.  

Nemaha Central will try to end their season with a victory and third place trophy as they play at 12:00 Saturday in Hutchinson against Norton with live coverage on KMZA 92.1 FM and www.mscsports.net.