Area athletes compete in Monday's all-star games

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Minden’s Taylor Kissinger capped her Nebraska prep career with a bang in Monday’s girls NCA (Nebraska Coaches Association) all-star game.

The Nebraska recruit scored 26 points and hauled in 18 rebounds, both NCA all-star game records, to help the Blue all-stars to an 85-81 win Monday at Lincoln North Star.

Despite missing her first four shots in Monday’s game, Kissinger found her rhythm and finished 10-for-17 shooting from the field.

The Red all-stars stayed within striking distance all night, trailing no more than eight points at any time. They were as close as 82-79 with 1:40 left in the game but the Blue all-stars managed to keep their distance.

Dundy County-Stratton’s Aubrey Frederick was the Gazette’s lone player representative. She finished with one point for the Blue all-stars, going 0-for-3 from the field and 1-for-2 on free throws.

As a team, the Blue all-stars were 6-for-25 on three point shooting, while the Red all-stars were 11-for-38.

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Monday’s boys NCA all-star basketball game got defensive, as the Red all-stars defeated the Blue all-stars 75-70 at Lincoln North Star.

Despite trailing 36-27 at halftime, and finishing 1-for-24 from the field, the Red all-stars found the offense needed to come back and record the win.

Wauneta-Palisade’s Greg Gaston finished with eight points, including back-to-back three pointers late in the first half, for the blue all-stars. He ended the game shooting 3-for-8 from the field.

Gaston had a familiar face on the bench as Bronco head man Dave Kuhlen helped lead the Blue all-stars.

Norfolk’s Travis Larson had a team-high 15 points for the Blue squad while Kearney Catholic’s Brady Holtmeier had 12.

Gretna’s Trey Brown, a Morningside recruit, scored a game-high 21 points for the Red all-stars. Nebraska-Omaha recruit and Papillion-La Vista grad Ayo Akinwole added 16.