MANHATTAN- The Trego Golden Eagles finished fourth at last year's 2A State Tournament. That meant this year's trip to Manhattan was about unfinished business.
The Golden Eagles 22-1 record was good enough for the 2 seed in the State Tournament. Their first game came against the 7 seed Bennington Bulldogs. Both teams came into the game giving up around 30 points per game defensively, so the match-up had the potential to be a low-scoring affair.
The Golden Eagles came out fighting in the first quarter, pushing their lead to as much as four. However, a 6-0 run pushed the momentum back in the Bulldogs favor, leading us to an 11 all tie.
Trego once again built a 3 point lead in the second, however, another 6-0 run gave Bennington a 3 point lead with under a minute until half. Two quick Trego buckets gave the Golden Eagles a 23-22 lead at the half.
The third quarter was a defensive affair for the Golden Eagles. Trego held the Bulldogs to just 6 points and used an 11-0 run to take a 34-28 lead in the the final act.
Trego somehow increased the defensive intensity even further, allowing just 3 fourth quarter points. The defense, combined with some timely free throws, led to a 45-31 Golden Eagle win.
Junior Lilli Shubert led all scorers with 13 points. She also had the high in rebounds with 7. Senior Gracie Pfannenstiel chipped in 11 points.
The Golden Eagles, who are now 23-1, are on to the semifinals for the second year in a row. They play the winner of tonight's Garden Plain-Sterling match-up, which is a rematch of last year's state championship game.
Bennington finishes their season 16-8.