OAKLAND - One of the best basketball conferences in all of Nebraska has its final two tournament teams set for a duel on Saturday night as Pender and West Point-Beemer pick up wins in the East Husker Conference Tournament semi-finals.

To start off the matchups on Thursday night, the 7th seeded West Point-Beemer Cadets, coming off an upset win over #2 Oakland-Craig, looked to slay another giant against the #3 Bancroft Rosalie Panthers.

With a record of 13-3, Bancroft Rosalie came into the semi-final winners of five straight, while 9-8 West Point-Beemer rattled off close wins against both Humphrey Lindsay Holy Family Bulldogs and last year's East Husker champ, Oakland-Craig. The Cadets entered the match on an 8-3 run in its last 11 games.

The Cadets rolled into an early lead, thanks to three triples to start the game from Addison Toelle and Campbell Snodgrass, but the Panther's Samryn Dick quickly closed the gap and helped Bancroft Rosalie jump out to a 15-14 lead after one quarter.

West Point-Beemer continued to put the ball in the hands of Addison Toelle, who knocked down two more perimeter shots in the second quarter, mixed in with great post play from Mia Hunke and Allie Kaup.

The Cadets swung the contest into a 28-22 lead at halftime.

Bancroft Rosalie had a little trouble offensively in the third quarter, while Addison Toelle hit yet another three pointer and Allie Kaup feasted inside the paint.

With a double-digit lead in the fourth, Samyrn Dick tried her best to keep the Panthers alive, but the scoring was too much from West Point-Beemer as the Cadets pulled out another upset victory 54-41 against Bancroft Rosalie.

Addison Toelle led the Cadet scoring with 15, followed by Campbell Snodgrass with 14 points (8 from the free throw line), Allie Kaup with 12 and Mia Hunke with 10.

Samryn Dick left it all out on the court for Bancroft Rosalie, scoring 21 points in the defeat.

The Cadets return to the East Husker Tournament Championship for the first time since 2019.

West Point-Beemer will look to slay the biggest dragon of them all on Saturday at Central Community College, as the undefeated #1 Pender Pendragons await the battle.

Number one overall seeded Pender and fifth seeded North Bend Central had their rematch on Thursday night, as the Tigers looked to upset their rival after falling by 10 points in mid-December.

North Bend Central also came into the game as winners of five-straight, bumping their record up to 10-7.

Pender put their perfect 18-0 record on the line and it started off in a low scoring contest.

The Tigers couldn't find an early consistent scorer, finishing with 7 points between three-players after the opening period. Pender, on the other hand, found an early hot shot in Avery Wegner, scoring 10 of the team's 12 first quarter points.

Both teams struggled to score in the second quarter, but Pender outscored North Bend Central from the perimeter, helping them jump out to a 24-17 halftime lead.

The Pendragons started the third quarter on a 5-0 run and ended it with a buzzer beater from team leader Maya Dolliver. Dolliver went through the first half scoreless, but came away with 7 points in the third quarter, including a dazzling lay in at the horn.

Lindsay Emmanuel tried to spark the Tiger's comeback with a three-pointer in the fourth quarter, but that would be the final made shot from the floor for North Bend Central.

Pender pulled away and stays perfect at 19-0 thanks to the 45-29 victory.

Avery Wegner finished with 17 points in the Pender win, with 9 points coming from Maya Dolliver and 8 points scored by Hadley Walsh.

Lauren Sterup lead NBC in scoring with 9, followed by Lindsay Emmanuel and Cassandra Burbach with 7 points.

The Pendragons head into the East Husker Conference Tournament Championship for the first time since 2014 and will face West Point-Beemer on Saturday, February 3rd at Central Community College in Columbus at 6:00 pm.