The Kansas City team held on despite the loss of Jenna Graf, the co-MVP of the tournament.
Graf led her team with 14 points but sat on the bench about half the game in foul trouble.
When she played, she was very effective, scoring eight of her team’s first 10 points in the second half.
Graf was joined on the bench by post player Karli Sample, who also picked up three quick fouls in the first half. Sample finished with six points and six rebounds.
The Twisterz took their game inside to Grand Island center Stacia Robertson, the other co-MVP. She had a double-double early in the second half, finishing with 19 points and 14 rebounds. But only three other players on the Twisterz team scored.
Karly Buer added seven points. She hit a 3-pointers with 10 seconds left to cut the lead to three points, and had a 3-point attempt off an in-bounds play with six-tenths of a second left that would have tied the game.
NOTES: Robertson set the tournament record, making 52 free throws. She also had the most points (164) and 2-pointers (53). … Megan Carpenter of Colorado Flight Red tied the tournament record with 13 2-point baskets in a single game against Twin Lakes Stars. … Elizabeth Donahoe of Oklahoma Firestorm had the best single game with 31 points against Colorado Gold on Thursday. She averaged 21.6 points per game. … The Twisterz defeated Pinnacle Bank Nebraska I 49-46 in the semifinals. Lexington’s Hailey Mandelko led Pinnacle, averaging 10.6 points per game. … KC Blue Streak eliminated Team Runza in the semifinal, 46-31. Jordan Hooper of Alliance led Team Runza, averaging 16.4 points per game. Kearney Catholic’s Katie Sokolowski averaged 10.9 points per game.
KC Blue Streaks 37, Nebr.
Twisterz 34
BLUE STREAKS — Jenna Graf 5-6 1-3 14, Kate Gallagher 2-7 3-4 7,
Karli Sample 2-4 1-4 6, Kylie Burns 2-7 0-1 4, Emily Altman 0-2
3-4 3, Abby Willis 0-0 2-2 2, Melanie Siscos 0-1 1-4 1, Katie
Brown 0-2 0-0 0. Total 11-29 11-22 37.
TWISTERZ — Stacia Robertson 5-15 9-12 19, Karly Buer 2-12 1-2 7,
Jamie VanKirk 3-8 0-3 6, Paige Hasty 1-3 0-0 2, Catie Dahl 0-3
0-0 0, Stacia Gerbers 0-1 0-0 0, Natasha Mueller 0-1 0-0 0.
Total 11-43 10-17 34.
3-point goals — Blue Streaks 4-7 (Graf 3-3, Sample 1-3, Altman
0-1), Twisterz 2-12 (Buer 2-6, VanKirk 0-4, Dahl 0-1, Mueller
0-1.
