After winning handily, 31-13 over Jefferson in the first round, Worth County's junior high girls won an all-out war with Northeast Nodaway 18-16 to get to the championship round of the tournament. Both teams went into the game shorthanded with Northeast playing without Brea Coulter (knee), while Worth County was playing without Regan Allee (hand). Both teams laid it all on the line, with physical play, frequent tieups, and hard fouls the name of the game. Northeast lead for most of the game, but Anna Gladstone would not let Worth County lose, leading the Tigers back to victory in the last few minutes.
Worth County had some chances in the early going, but they missed some easy shots and settled for a 4-2 lead. Haley Hunt had a putback for Worth County and Jessi Badell hit a shot from the wing with 5 seconds left. Northeast countered with a shot from Jaysie Dougan.
Early in the second quarter, Brittany Burns took a shot to the face and left the floor; however, Worth County could not take advantage and Brittany came back with the score still 4-2. When she came back, Brittany hit two baseline shots to put Northeast in the lead and Jaysie Dougan added a pair of free throws to put Northeast on top 8-5. Anna Gladstone finally got on the board with a free throw for Worth County. For Northeast, Brittany Burns and Jaysie Dougan, not normally their main scorers, did all the scoring for the Bluejays.
Anna got a pair of steals for Worth County in the third, but Northeast raised their lead to 16-10 after three. Gerry Runde had two putbacks for Northeast, Brittany Burns hit a shot from the high post after a pass from Adwell, and Makayla Adwell hit from the left wing for Northeast. Brittany got a career high with 6 for the night.
But Worth County picked it up defensively in the final quarter and held Northeast scoreless. Kristen New hit a free throw and Anna Gladstone followed with a steal to make it 16-13. Then, Jessi Badell was there for the putback after Anna ran over Makayla Adwell in an effort to get to the basket; Kristen New found Anna on the right baseline with 1:45 left to put Worth County up 17-16 for one of the few outside shots Worth County would have all night.
Neither side could hand onto the ball for the next 1:31, but Kristen New, battling stomach problems, made the play of the game when she forced a tieup with 14 seconds left to give Worth County the ball back. Northeast tried to press to get the ball back, but Worth County passed it right down the floor and got it to Haley Hunt; she was fouled before she could score and she hit one of two to make it 18-16. Northeast pushed it up the floor for one last shot, but Haley Hunt was there for a steal to preserve the win.
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