NTL GIRLS BASKETBALL: BEEBE'S BUZZER BEATER LIFTS NEB PAST BLOOMSBURG (February 8, 2026)
BY CHRIS MANNINGNorthern Tier Sports ReportROME — Leah Beebe hit a turn around corner 3-ball with five seconds left to lead NEB past Bloomsburg, 41-40, in overtime during a wild non-league girls’ hoops contest Saturday.
NEB led by as much as 15 points in the with under three minutes to go in the third quarter only to watch Bloomsburg out score them 20-5 the rest of the way to force overtime 31-31.
NEB led by three twice during the extra period, only for Bloomsburg to come back and take a 2-point lead with 22 seconds to play.
That set up Beebe’s spinning jumper for the win.
“It feels really cool,” Beebe said about hitting the game winning shot. “It was just do whatever it took, whether it was a lay-up inside, or a three, just get something off, get a good look.”
Coach Ben Beebe was relieved to get the win, but felt his team didn’t play up to their potential.
“It feels good to win, but I thought we played really very sloppy,” he said. “I was not pleased with our total overall performance, but a wins a win.”
He joked that the final shot was how they drew it up in practice.
“It was a miracle shot, and she knows it,” Coach Beebe said. “But it was her time.”
NEB dominated early, leading 21-3 midway through the second quarter before Bloomsburg went on a 6-0 run to end the first half down 21-9.
“It was a tale of two halves,” Coach Beebe said. “We played great defense the first half, and the second half was not so hot. Only nine points in the first half, and 40 total, so 31 in the second - that’s not good defense.”
Beebe had 11 points, four assists, and three steals to lead NEB, as Kara Dughi netted 10 points.
Mallorie Maynard scored eight points to go with nine boards, and two blocks before fouling out, as Katrina Russell notched six points, three assists, and two steals.
Aurelia Kolesar had four points, 11 boards, five steals, three assists, and two blocks, while Izzy Kapr had two points to round out their scoring.
Despite the big first half lead it could have been more for NEB as they missed their fair share of lay-ups.
“We focus on trying to make lay-ups every day,” Coach Beebe said. “We just made some poor decisions today, and it didn’t help.”
Delaney Zentner had a game high 22 points to lead Bloomsburg as she single handily clawed them back into the game. She had 17 points the fourth quarter and overtime, and hit four 3-balls on the day.
Gabby Kashi netted eight points, with Brenyn Wasielewski adding five. Lucy Maclay had three points, while Riley Hunter scored two.
NEB led 4-0 to start the game as Russell hit a free throw, and Dughi nailed a 3-ball.
A Zentner deep ball cut it to 4-3 but that was followed by NEB’s 17-0 run, kick started by back to back 3-balls from Maynard, and Beebe.
A Russell jumper in the final minute of the first half gave NEB a 12-3 lead at the first horn.
NEB scored the first nine points of the second quarter as Russell, and Dughi had back to back buckets. Dughi then hit a pair of freebies, followed by a 3-ball for the 18-point lead.
Wasielewski ended the run with a 5-0 spurt, while a Maclay free throw made it 21-9 at the half.
A Maynard free throw to start the second half put NEB up 22-9, with Hunter hitting a lay-up for Bloom’s first points of the third quarter.
A Kolesar free throw followed by a Beebe 3-pointer saw NEB re-extend their lead to 26-11 with 3:45 on the clock.
A Kashi bucket made it a 13 point game, then Zentner took over, beginning with back to back lay-ups for a 26-17 contest going into the final frame.
A Kapr lay-up made it a double figure advantage for NEB, but a Zentner jumper pushed the lead back down to nine.
Three straight 3-pointers - one by Kashi, two from Zentner - saw tied the game up at 28-all with 1:02 on the clock.
Maynard bucket off a Beebe assist pushed NEB back up 30-28 with 45 seconds left.
They would get a steal on Bloomsburg’s next offensive possession, where upon Russel was sent to the line, where she made 1-of-2 for a 31-28 score.
Zentner, though, had some magic left, hitting a 3-pointer at the buzzer to send the game into overtime at 31-all.
NEB got a Kolesar free throw, followed by a Maynard basket for a 3-point lead a minute into the extra period.
Maclay hit a jumper to make it a 1-point game, and it stayed there until the 1:45 mark when a pair of Beebe free throws put NEB back up by three.
Kashi tied the game up on the next possession with a 3-ball, only for NEB to retake the lead on a pair of Kolesar free throws.
With just under a minute to play Zentner hit a lay-up plus the foul to put Bloom up 39-38.
After NEB turnover they fouled Bloomsburg, but Bloom came away empty handed from the free throw line.
Bloomsburg would get a miss on their ensuing possession, then saw Zentner get to the free throw line with 22.8 seconds left, making 1-of-2 for the 2-point lead.
At the other end Beebe would get the ball off an inbounds play in the corner, then hit the 3-point shot for the 1-point lead.
Zentner got a look in the final seconds but her running 3-pointer was off.
Leah likes games like these going forward.
“It keeps the intensity, and it gets us ready for what we’re going to have to handle,” she said.
NEB (18-2) travels to CV on Monday, before hosting NPL on Tuesday in their regular season finale.
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PHOTOS BY CHRIS MANNING
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