LINCOLN — The Milford Eagles built and early lead and held off Arlington 61-40 on Wednesday afternoon.

The victory marked the first state tournament win in program history for Milford. 

The Eagles’ defense limited Arlington to just 2-13 shooting in the opening quarter, allowing them to build a 19-9 advantage. Milford led by 15 at halftime but Arlington went on an 8-0 run in the third quarter to cut it to a six-point game. That’s when the Milford defense toughened up again and held their opponent to just eight points in the final 12 minutes.

Shayla Rautenberg of Milford finished with 12 points, 14 rebounds and 8 blocks, just short of a triple-double.

The #3 Eagles advance to face #2 Minden in the state semifinals on Friday at 10:45 a.m. The game will be televised on News Channel Nebraska.

Milford… 19, 16, 14, 12 = 61

Arlington… 9, 11, 16, 4 = 40

Milford: Yeackley 16, Roth 13, Rautenberg 12, Oldfield 11, Miller 6, Crabtree 3

Arlington: Timm 14, Arp 8, Nielsen 6, Wolf 5, Carvajal 4, Hegemann 3