Yesterday, March 5, the Westside girls varsity basketball team used a strong third quarter to open up a lead and take down Millard West. In both of its district tournament games, Westside outscored its opponents by double digits in the third quarter.

Tonight, March 6, the script was flipped: Westside was outscored 13-6 in the third. But it didn’t matter; Westside showed it could take charge in the second quarter and close out a game in the fourth. Because of that, third-seeded Westside is headed to the NSAA Class A State Tournament Championship Game as it beat second-seeded Lincoln Northeast 61-49 in the tournament semifinal.

Coming off of a 55-40 victory over Millard West Thursday night, the Warriors got out to a slow start, as Lincoln Northeast jumped ahead 6-3 with six minutes remaining in the first quarter. But the Warriors fought back thanks to three-point baskets from junior Lynsey Curran (12 points) and senior Regan Johnson (nine points), and the teams headed to the second quarter knotted at 15.

But Westside found its stride midway through the second quarter as senior Jay Bridgeman (10 points) scored four straight to put Westside up 21-18 with just under five minutes remaining. After a Lincoln Northeast two-point basket, Westside went on a 14-0 run, which was highlighted by threes from freshman Quinn Weidemann (18 points), Bridgeman and Curran.

That 14-0 run would prove the difference in the half. Westside led 38-24 after two quarters.

“Last time we played them, they got a huge lead in the first quarter and we were in such a deep hole we couldn’t come back and ended up losing by four…”  Bridgeman said. “We made it a priority that we played from beginning to end because if we didn’t, we knew what would happen again.”

But coming out of halftime, something that Westside has done better than any of its opponents in postseason play, Westside looked flat. Lincoln Northeast outscored Westside 10-1 for the first three minutes of the quarter, and Westside couldn’t find its shooting touch.

No matter. Westside took a five-point, 42-37 lead to the fourth quarter and quickly showed its grit. The Warriors scored the first six points of the fourth, taking a 48-37 lead with 5:19 remaining, and never looked back. Lincoln Northeast cut the lead to single digits only twice from then on, and Westside hit late free throws to seal its victory, 61-49.

“[Getting to the state final] feels like a dream come true, honestly,” Bridgeman said. “For years, I have seen other teams go to state and win the championship, and just thinking that will be our team competing for the title, it’s amazing.”

The Warriors move on to face Norfolk, the tournament’s eighth seed, which has upset Benson and Bellevue West on its path to the state tournament final. Norfolk beat Bellevue West 36-23 in a game played immediately before Westside’s game. Westside will be going for its first girls basketball state championship in 16 years.

“We understand the goal tomorrow and we understand what we need to do to obtain that,” Bridgeman said. “…It’s definitely going to be a battle, but I’ve been waiting for this fight my entire life.”

The game will be at the Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln at 6:30 p.m. Follow us @westsidewired on Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat for pre-game and in-game coverage of the championship game. We will tweet out the student section theme as soon as we get word from student section leaders.