Minden Gets C-1 Wildcard, Plays Pierce

The Minden Whippets girls basketball has punched its ticket to the 2013 Nebraska Girls State Basketball Tournament Feb. 28-March 1 in Lincoln.

The Lady Whippets grabbed one of the two Class C-1 wildcards for the state tournament. This will mark the ninth state appearance for Minden who are the 2012 C-1 runner-up. The Whippets also were fourth place finishers in 2009 and 2011.

Come Thursday, Minden (19-4) has earned the fourth-seed in the C-1 bracket and will play the Pierce Bluejays (20-4) in a first round contest at Pershing Center with the game scheduled to tip at 8:45 p.m.

The Minden/Pierce winner will get either the top-seeded Chadron Cardinals (22-2) or the eighth-seeded Lincoln Christian Crusaders who play Thursday at 7 p.m. The semifinals are scheduled for Friday at 3:45 p.m. at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. The C-1 finals are set for 4:30 p.m. on Saturday at the Sports Center while the consolation game is set for Saturday at 10 a.m. at Lincoln Northeast High School.

Minden state tournament appearances are: 1980, 1981, 1982, 1990, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2013.