Southern Nebraska Conference tournament champions.
The girls on the 2025-26 Milford basketball team haven’t known anything else. For the last five years, the Eagles have finished atop the tournament standings. This year, MHS defeated Sandy Creek 59-23 in the final.
“We hang our hat on defense, and we did it again,” Coach Bryce Roth said. “Five straight is a huge deal.”
He said it’s a special accomplishment for each group.
The Eagles held the Cougars to just seven total made shots – four from two and three from three and 20.6% shooting for the game. Meanwhile, MHS connected on 56.4% of its shots – 15-23 from two and 7-16 from three.
Roth said the first quarter set the tone for the game. Milford outscored Sandy Creek 15-5 and then 24-7 in the second quarter for a 27-point halftime lead. The margin got to 40 (54-14) with three minutes to play in the third quarter.
“A 40-point lead in a championship game – that shows where we are at,” Roth said. “We’re playing at a pretty high level.”
While Sandy Creek tried to limit Milford post Shayla Rautenberg, other Eagles stepped into the mix. Abby Crabtree led the team with 13 points and seven assists. Ashlynn Miller also scored 13. Adalyn Cisneros finisehd with 10 points, going 3-3 from three-point range. Rautenberg, despite being double- and triple-teamed, recorded 10 points and 15 rebounds.
“What our team has learned is there’s not one person you can take away,” Roth said.
He was pleased to see the scoring balance in the game.
“This is a big check-mark for us,” he said. “We’re ready for the next thing.”
The week started Feb. 3 with a 55-27 win over Fillmore Central. Roth said the Eagles were dialed in in the first quarter, building an 18-4 lead.
The Panthers kept fighting, however, throwing six different defenses against the Eagles.
“I thought we did a good job handling the different situations,” Roth said.
Rautenberg finished the game with a double double – 21 points and 10 rebounds. Miller added 15 points.
The win put MHS in the semifinals against Sutton, a team that has been playing well, Roth said. Again Milford built an early lead, 16-4 in the first and 32-9 at halftime en route to a 58-27 win.
“We knew we would be able to replicate the previous game,” Roth said.
In that meeting, Milford set a school record for points scored with 85.
He was pleased to see the defense hold the Fillies to 27 points and force 17 turnovers, which turned into 17 Milford points.
While Sutton keyed on Crabtree, Rautenberg put up another double double with 23 points and 18 boards. Kylie Jakub added a season-high 14 points and went 4-8 from three to go with five assists and four steals.
Roth said Crabtree recognized that the defense was locked on her and did a good job distributing the ball to open teammates.
“We need to make bigger jumps. How much better can we get?” Roth said.
The Eagles (21-1) are entering the final week of the regular season and will play at Sandy Creek Friday, Feb. 13.
Roth said the Cougars will be hungry to avenge the championship game loss, but Milford will take the opportunity to revamp itself.
Subdistrict assignments will be announced following Tuesday night’s games.
