By Marisa Dawson
The Bennington High School basketball teams split results in a doubleheader at Roncalli Catholic on Tuesday, February 10, in Omaha. Coming off strong wins against Gretna on Saturday, February 7, the girls’ squad dominated while the boys fell in a tight contest.
Girls’ Game: Bennington 82, Roncalli Catholic 15
The Bennington girls overwhelmed host Roncalli Catholic from the opening tip in a non-conference blowout. The Badgers jumped out to a 38-3 lead after the first quarter and never looked back, outscoring their opponents in every period.
Bennington shot efficiently at 52.6% from the field and 40% from three-point range (8-of-20), while dominating the glass with 54 rebounds and recording 15 blocks. Macie Reiner led the way with 20 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals, and 4 blocks. Harper Bohaboj added 16 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists. Skylar Johnson chipped in 9 points, and Haydin Jackson contributed 9 points with 5 rebounds and 3 assists.
Postgame, girls’ coach John O’Connor praised his team’s preparation and mindset in maintaining focus despite the lopsided score.
“I think our girls had a good week of practice, just getting prepared for the game… Just trying to focus on getting better every day,” O’Connor replied.
When asked about improvements since the last game: “I think we’re always trying to work on execution at this time of the year. We’re always trying to work on defense, always trying to work on rebounding. Those are things we can always continue to work on for sure.”
On staying disciplined: “I think it’s a credit to our girls’ attitudes and mindsets of focusing- not on the scoreboard, not on anything else, and just focus on trying to get better. Credit to some of our girls that come in and sub in- they’re focused and they want to play hard. And then we have girls that are always trying to get better, and some young girls wanting opportunities too.”
Boys’ Game: Roncalli Catholic 58, Bennington 55
The boys’ matchup proved far more competitive, with Roncalli Catholic edging Bennington in a close finish. The Badgers struggled early, falling behind in the first half before rallying in the second.
Kale Lamberty paced Bennington with 19 points and strong rebounding, while Blaize Jung added 16 points and 6 rebounds. Jonas Neuverth contributed from deep with 5 points on efficient three-point shooting. The team shot 33% from the field overall but showed resilience with 10 blocks and solid free-throw shooting.
Coach Luke Olson reflected on the game’s ebb and flow, emphasizing the need for consistent effort. “You work on a lot of situations in practice. We did not play well the first half, and they clapped back, they made some plays to get back in the game,” he noted. Olson added, “These games come down to a couple plays… I was proud, we competed hard. We just have to learn from the first half.”
There was a noticeable shift that took place after halftime. Olson commented on what made the difference, saying, “Body language, talk, competing, playing fast, not letting mistakes by. We did a really average job in that first half. They need to learn that you have to just play- things don’t always go your way. Figure it out, move on, make the next play. And when they do that, they’re a really good team. And when they don’t, then they struggle a little bit. So I thought tonight we were better in the second half, but the first half kind of caught up with us.”
Looking ahead after the recent win over Gretna and this result heading soon into the postseason: “You know, it’s a tough week. We have four games in eight days against four good teams all on the road, so I feel we’re fine,” he said. “We have some good things going on and a couple things we still have to work on. But like we said way back in December, we’re a work in progress, and every week we need to get better. I thought tonight we did a lot of good things. But the nice thing about basketball is you rally back pretty quick. We have a game in two days, so we have to move on, figure out what didn’t go well tonight, adjust, and then get ready to go on Thursday.”
