Dundy County Stratton defeats Wynot to claim school’s first Girls Basketball State Championship 

LINCOLN – The 50^th annual installment of the Nebraska Girls Basketball State Championships began with a bit of history: #1-seed Dundy County Stratton (28-1) defeated #6-seed Wynot (18-12) 49-39 in the D2 title game, the Tigers’ first state championship in girls basketball.  

It was DCS’s first trip to the title game since 2019, which was their third time finishing as state runner-up in five seasons. Wynot, meanwhile, is a juggernaut, winners of three titles in the last ten years, eight since the turn of the century, plus five runner-up finishes since 2010. 

DCS never trailed in the first half Saturday morning, but were never able to fully take command. Both teams played solid defense, and tapping into their deep benches. Dundy County Stratton led 21-16 at the half, but Wynot made a push in the third quarter, tying the score less than two minutes in and then grabbing their first lead of the game 30-29, on a Jaden Geisen layup with 17 seconds to go.  

That lead did not last long. DCS scored the first 11 points of the fourth quarter, a run started and ended by buckets from Kimberley Escobar, and the Tigers coasted from there. The fourth-quarter surge was punctuated by a Ava Lutz interception, setting up Abi Spargo for a transition and-one with 41 seconds to play, putting the bow on a 49-39 victory for the D2 bracket’s top seeds.  

DCS finished shooting 46.5% from the field, while holding Wynot to 28%. Spargo was excellent for DCS with a 22-point, 12-rebound double-double, both tops on the team, while older sister Clara finished with nine points and ten rebounds and Escobar delivered nine and five.