GRAND ISLAND — Leading 35-29 at halftime, Northwest limited Kearney Catholic to 14 points over the final 16 minutes to pull away for a 57-43 victory over the Stars Friday night in the season opener for both teams.
Cam Walker led all scorers for Northwest with 16 points, including a steal and a two-handed slam dunk in the second half. Jaden Brandt had 14 points, Sam Dinkelman had 12 and Dawson Urbanski scored 11 for the Vikings, who finished with eight 3-pointers — four of them from Brandt, who scored 11 of his 14 in the first half.
Owen Axmann scored 14 points for Kearney Catholic, which trailed just 21-19 after the first quarter. Will Hogeland tallied 10 points for the Stars.
Northwest will be back in action Saturday when it hosts Gretna East. Kearney Catholic will travel to play at North Platte St. Patrick’s on Tuesday.
Northwest 57, Kearney Catholic 43
Kearney Catholic (0-1)…..19 10 8 6—43
Northwest (1-0)…………….21 14 10 12—57
KEARNEY CATHOLIC—Owen Axmann 14, Jake Bosshamer 4, Hunter Key 2, Zac Conner 7, Oliver Sharp 6, Will Hogeland 10.
NORTHWEST—Myles Eriksen 2, Sam Dinkelman 12, Cam Walker 16, Jaden Brandt 14, Luke Jensen 2, Dawson Urbanski 11.
GIRLS
Northwest 54, Kearney Catholic 24
GRAND ISLAND — Northwest exploded for 25 third-quarter points Friday night to win its season opener at home 54-24 over Kearney Catholic.
After taking an 18-5 lead into the intermission, the Vikings outscored the Stars 25-9 in the third quarter. Most of the damage came from 3-point range as Northwest sank five of its eight treys in the frame.
Laiken Dorsey led a balanced Vikings’ offense with 10 points. Reagan McIntyre finished with nine points and Jolie O’Hara and Emersyn Graves scored eight points apiece for the Vikings.
Danielle Seim scored all of her team-high 12 points in the second half for Kearney Catholic.
Northwest 54, Kearney Catholic 24
Kearney Catholic (0-1) …..4 1 9 10—24
Northwest (1-0)……………..9 9 25 11—54
KEARNEY CATHOLIC—Tessa Colling 1, Hadley McGowen 2, Lainey Murphy 4, Kendyl O’Hare 1, Danielle Seim 12, Payton Dzingle 4.
NORTHWEST—Jolie O’Hara 8, Laiken Dorsey 10, Emersyn Graves 8, Reagan McIntyre 9, Isabella Buhrman 6, Halle Rice 2, Libby Loman 3, Madelyn Kral 2, Daveigha Heikes 6.
