Norris shuts down Seward in district final, clinches spot in state tournament for sixth straight season

SEWARD, Neb. - For the second time in almost exactly two months, Norris (16-8) shut down Seward (18-9) - but this Saturday, a wire-to-wire 52-30 win for the Titans secured them a spot in the Class B girls basketball state tournament for the sixth consecutive season.  

Norris sure looked the part of one of the best teams in Class B girls basketball this season, but a 4-4 finish to the season, including a subdistrict loss to Lincoln Pius, and a 15-8 overall record relegated the Titans to a #9 seed and a road district final. On the other side, #8-seed Seward was fresh off a subdistrict title highlighted by an upset win over York, a team the Bluejays had lost to twice earlier in the year.  

But even playing on the road as a lower seed, Norris left no doubt that they are indeed one of the best teams in Class B this season, rolling to a 52-30 victory in which they never trailed. In fact, Seward tied the game at 2-2 in the game’s opening stages, but the score was never tied again after that. Norris beat Seward 56-27 in their regular-season meeting just two months prior, holding the Bluejays to single-digit scoring in all four quarters, and the same was true in the rematch.  

Leading 25-17 at half, Norris firmly seized control of the contest with a clinical close to the third quarter. The Titans scored the final 12 points of the frame, part of a 19-0 run where they ballooned their lead from eight points to 27 – Seward went close to a full eight minutes of game time without an answer on offense. The Titans’ defense was tremendous, especially after the first quarter, and a balanced Norris attack was far too much for Seward to overcome in Norris’ 52-30 win.  

Marlee Emerson, Landri Gates and Ize Tidball were all excellent in all phases for Norris, with Tidball triggering the defense, Emerson engineering the offense, and Gates gashing Seward in transition. Emerson led all players with 15 points, followed by Gates with 14 and Tidball with 13; three-sport standout Kelsey Miller led Seward with nine.  

Now safely into the NSAA girls basketball state tournament field for the sixth straight season, Norris will enter as the #8-seed in the Class B field, and will face top-seeded Omaha Skutt Catholic in the first round of the state tournament on Thursday, March 6 at 1:30 PM. You can listen to that game live on KWBE; every Norris game at this year’s state tournament will be streamed live on either KWBE or Ol’ Red 99.5.