Milford advances to semifinals after 61-40 victory over Arlington

It was the showdown of the Eagles at the Bob Devaney Sports Center Wednesday afternoon as No. 3 Milford played No. 6 Arlington in the first round of the NSAA Class C1 State Girls Basketball Tournament. Milford took down Arlington with a 61-40 victory. 

Both schools certainly know how to travel to support their teams, with packed student sections in both Milford’s purple and Arlington’s black. Cheerleaders pounded the floor and fans proudly cheered on their teams despite the icy weather. 

It had been some time since either Eagles team made a tournament appearance. Milford hadn’t seen tournament play since 2008 and it had been even longer for Arlington, which last made the tournament in 2001. 

“It’s been a great experience for our kids,” Arlington coach Tashia Wolf said. “We come every year, we sit up in the stands and we think, ‘Man, it would be awesome to be there.’” 

Milford came into the tournament riding a 17-game win streak, with a record of 23-1. Arlington arrived in Lincoln with a 21-4 record.

Milford showed up even in the first quarter, ending with a score of 19-9. Arlington amped up their energy, going on a 6-0 run to make it a four point game in the second quarter. Even so, Milford responded accordingly and ended the second quarter with a score of 35-20 in Milford’s favor. 

“Every time someone thought we were down, when we had little setbacks, the girls used that as some fire,” Arlington coach Leslie Gubbels said. “They used that as fuel and knew that it wasn’t the end.”

Milford continued to hold onto its lead in the second half, with five 3-pointers in the third, three made by senior forward Izabelle Yeackley. 

With under a minute left in the game, Milford called a substitution time out, clearly feeling comfortable in its lead. Girls that hadn’t seen the court all game played the last few seconds before the buzzer went off. 

Throughout the game, Milford shot well from the outside and didn’t let Arlington break ahead even once. Milford's largest lead was by 22 points in the fourth quarter. 

Milford also led in every individual stat. Yeackley led in baskets with 16 points, freshman center Shayla Rautenberg led rebounds with 14, and senior guard Alyandra Roth led in assists with 8. 

Arlington’s junior guard Emerson Timm led the team in points with 14 and in assists with 4. Senior forward Britt Nielsen led the team with 11 rebounds. 

“It’s our chemistry,” Yeackley said. We play together so well. We’ve grown up together and we love each other so much.” 

Milford will take on the No. 2 Minden Whippets at 10:45 a.m. on Friday, March 7, at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

Published in UNLimited Sports, read here.

Milford senior guard Aylandra Roth (4) goes after the ball during the first half in the game against Arlington on March 5, 2025, at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. Roth led the Milford Eagles in assists with eight assists. Photo by Izzy Lewis.