Anselmo-Merna plays strongest season yet

LINCOLN - The Anselmo-Merna Lady Coyotes capped off a very successful season with a trip to the Nebraska State Girls Basketball Championship in Lincoln.

The girls drew the 20-7 Jets from Sterling High School for the opening match-up at Lincoln Northeast High School. A good crowd was on hand to watch the Monday morning match-up and both teams were excited to take the court.

The Jets coaching staff can be credited with doing a good job of scouting the Coyotes as they were able to shut down scoring by senior Jaide Chandler who was held to just two points but did manage seven rebounds and a steal.

Shaylyn Safranek led A-M scoring with ten and added eleven rebounds to her season tally. Makenna Miller added five points and RayLee Downing and Hadlee Safranek each put in 4. The Coyotes were outscored 23-9 in the second and third quarters, giving Sterling the advantage. Macy Richardson, a junior, scored 29 points to lead the Jets.

The final score found A-M on the short end 3350, capping their season with a 19-7 record, as

MNAC runner-up, District Champions and state championship competitors.

Coach Trenton Kirchmann had the following to say about the Lady Coyotes

This season was definitely something to remember. Statistically this was one of the strongest seasons that we have had. We broke the single season scoring record by 112 points, broke the block record by 23 blocks, and tied the single season win record with 19.

Part of the reason for our success was the depth of this team. We had 2 main scorers with Jaide and Shaylyn but had quite a few other girls that stepped up throughout the season. Being a small school and having the ability to go 8 or 9 deep definitely helps you out.

Shaylyn Safranek broke the single season blocks record and Jaide broke the career block record and career 3 point record.

We had multiple girls step up to big roles throughout the year. After Kirsten Myers (a 4 year starting point guard) went out with an injury, we had quite a few girls that had to step up and take on some new roles. RayLee Downing took over as point guard and had the 5th best season in assists with 103. Hadlee Safranek, Macy Miller, Makenna Miller, Carlee Bartak, and Riley Marsh all stepped up as well and took on some different roles throughout the year and heavily contributed to the success of the season.

This was a big year looking at the overall success of the Lady Coyote program. We placed 2nd in the conference, which is our highest place since we joined MNAC. We won the Brady tournament against some very tough competition.

A highlight of this year was getting chosen to play at the Nebraska Girl’s Showcase where we started off the day with an overtime win over Cross County that really put our name on the map this year in D2.

Finally reaching our 3rd district final in a row was a big success but we wanted to get that monkey off our back and make it to state. In a tight game we were able to beat Parkview Christian with Makenna Miller hitting a free throw with 0.3 seconds left to win and we broke our 16 year drought of going to state.

Barb Miller Shown above, Kirsten Myers (24) and Michaela Myers (32), two of the six seniors for the Anselmo-Merna Lady Coyotes, make their way across the floor of Lincoln Northeast High School for the first game of the 2022 Nebraska State Basketball Tournament.

Barb Miller Junior Shaylyn Safranek, shown above, shot 100% from the line, led team scoring with 10 and pulled down 11 rebounds for the Coyotes against the Jets of Sterling.

Barb Miller Pictured above, Anselmo-Merna sophomore Riley Marsh dribbles down court. Marsh scored 3 points for the Coyotes in the State tournament.

Barb Miller Freshman Makenna Miller, pictured above, drives to the hoop against Sterling. Miller had 5 points, 4 rebounds and 3 steals.

Barb Miller Above, Senior Macy Miller follows her shot against a Jets defender. She scored 3 points and added 2 rebounds.

Barb Miller Laying in a bucket above, senior Jaide Chandler was held to 2 points but pulled down 7 boards in the Coyotes state tournament game.

Barb Miller Shown above, Carlee Bartak shoots against a Jet defender. She earned 2 rebounds in the game.