The KCI champion met the GRC champion in a girls basketball showdown for the championship of Class 2, District 16 on Friday night, with the result, a 53-52 win for North Platte over South Harrison, every bit as suspenseful as the fans at Maysville High School thought coming into the matchup.

For South Harrison, in losing for only the fourth time on the season, Hunter Purdin had 17 points, while Ciara Jennings tossed in 13.  For North Platte, Erin Manville had 20 points, with Brittany Gerling scoring 11.

The victory for North Platte sends the Lady Panthers into the Class 2 sectionals to face the Santa Fe Lady Chiefs, a 62-40 winner on their home floor over Wellington-Napoleon in Friday night’s District 15 final.  The sectional game (North Platte vs. Santa Fe) will be Wednesday night at 6 o’clock at Staley High School in Kansas City.

Elsewhere in Class 2, the Tri-Rivers Conference champion Scotland County Lady Tigers are into the state playoffs, courtesy of a 53-41 win over longtime rival Schuyler County on Saturday afternoon in Queen City.  The Lady Tigers, with an extremely impressive record of 27-1 on the season, will take on the Monroe City Lady Panthers on Wednesday night at 6 o’clock at the Macon High School gymnasium, in a game matching up the champions of District 5 and District 6.  The winner moves into Saturday’s (1:00 PM) state quarterfinals at Moberly Area Community College, against either New Franklin or Iberia.