Sutton advances to state for 1st time since 2022
The Sutton Fillies capped off a banner 2025-26 basketball season with their first trip to a state tournament in four years, as the Fillies earned a fourth-place finish in Class D-1, ending the season with a strong 21-9 record.
Sutton started the year off with five straight wins, upending Superior, Freeman, H&H, McCool Junction, and BDS before running into a pair of challenging losses at Hastings St. Cecilia and at Nebraska Christian. The Fillies then captured the Mead Holiday Tournament title with wins over Mead and Bergan Catholic of Fremont, to end the month of December.
In January, Sutton was 5-4, beating Cross County, Centennial, Wood River, EMF, and Fairbury, with losses coming at the hands of Centura, Thayer Central, Class C-1 state champion Milford, and to Sandy Creek.
The month of February began with a third place run in the Southern Nebraska Conference tournament, winning three of four games, claiming wins over Superior, Tri County, and avenging a loss to Thayer Central, with Milford downing the Fillies in the semifinal round.
Two regular-season wins over Wilber-Clatonia and Fillmore Central spurred the Fillies into the D1-2 Sub-District tournament where Sutton crushed Deshler in the opening round and held off Tri County in the final.
Sutton and Tri County squared off again in the D1-7 District Final, with the Fillies punching their ticket to state with a commanding 49-23 win over the Trojans.
In the Class D-1 state tournament, the Fillies opened with a 48-33 win over Amherst, before Bloomfield edged Sutton 44-38 in the semifinal round, pushing the Fillies into the third-place game, where Elm Creek edged out the Fillies 56-54, placing Sutton fourth overall.
TEAM LEADERS
Individually, Sutton had six players average over five points a game, led by sophomore Isabella Trejo, who averaged 8.2 points per game, while scoring a team high 247 points.
Junior Jadlynn Kinney followed Trejo, scoring 212 points, an average of 7.1 points per game. Senior Avery Smith dropped in 200 points, senior Kyla Griess averaged 8.1 points per game, while scoring 187 points in 23 games. Freshman Kali White hit for 177 points, while senior Miranda Nuss scored 152, and sophomore Camden Mau another 123 points.
Rebounding leaders this season were Nuss with 169, White with 102 Kamryn Steinhauer with 84, and Mau with 79.
Mau dished out a team-high 63 assists this season, followed by 47 from Griess, 39 from Trejo, 38 from Kinney, and 35 from Avery Smith.
Griess, White, and Mau led the Fillies steals chart, as Griess had 58, White, 53, and Mau, 45.
2025-2026 SCHEDULE
Superior........................................................ W 74-12 Freeman........................................................ W 64-40 H&H.............................................................. W 65-14 McCool Junction............................................ W 46-26 BDS................................................................. W 72-8 Hastings St. Cecilia..........................................L 46-29 Nebraska Christian..........................................L 48-43 Mead Holiday Tournament
Mead...................................................... W 63-21 Bergan Catholic...................................... W 46-44 Centura...........................................................L 60-26 Cross County.................................................. W 69-19 Centennial..................................................... W 45-36 Wood River.................................................... W 56-31 Thayer Central.................................................L 56-51 EMF............................................................... W 68-45 Fairbury......................................................... W 69-24 Milford............................................................L 85-44 Sandy Creek....................................................L 64-50 SNC Tournament
Superior.................................................. W 71-19 Tri County................................................ W 41-37 Milford......................................................L 58-27 Thayer Central......................................... W 54-46 Wilber-Clatonia............................................. W 59-22 Fillmore Central............................................. W 63-45 D1-2 Sub-District Tournament
Deshler................................................... W 59-13 Tri County............................................... W 52-40 D1-7 Sub-District Final
Tri County............................................... W 49-23 Class D-1 State Tournament
Amherst.................................................. W 48-33 Bloomfield................................................L 44-38 Elm Creek..................................................L 56-54
