Sidney survives Beatrice rally, wins first state tournament game in 39 years

LINCOLN - Senior Reese Riddle went 6-8 at the free throw line in the final period, and the No. 3 Sidney girls basketball team survived a second half rally from No. 6 Beatrice to win 43-37 in the quarterfinals of the Class B State Tournament Thursday night at Pinnacle Bank Arena. 

Riddle finished with a game-high 17 points to help advance the Lady Raiders (25-2) to the semifinals vs. No. 2 Omaha Skutt Catholic (24-0) at 2:15 p.m. MST on Friday at Pinnacle Bank Arena. News Channel Nebraska will have coverage of the game on 987 The Big Boy (98.7 FM in Sidney), newschannelnebraska.com, and on the NCN app. 

After leading by as much as 11 points, Sidney was forced to put together a rally of their own in the final three minutes of the game to secure Head Coach Tyler Shaw's first state tournament win in eight tries. It was the program's first win at the Nebraska School Activities Association State Basketball Championships in 39 years, when they finished as the Class B runner-up in 1984.

Sidney has qualified for the state tournament 17 times in school history and have never won a girls state championship. 

Riley Schwisow led Beatrice (17-5) with 15 points.