Lexie Yrkoski played 17 minutes for Dundy County Stratton during the girls high school basketball state championship game in the state of Nebraska. She did so without a functional knee.
The senior had a torn ACL and MCL.
There may not be a more impressive feat in high school basketball during this current playoff cycle. You were not going to keep her off of the court!
Dundy County Stratton won its first Nebraska high school basketball championship in Class 2A.
Dundy County Stratton High School is located in the small town of Benkelman, Nebraska. It serves less than 100 total students in Grades 9-12. The Tigers compete on the Class 2A level of competition.
This season was especially special for the girls high school basketball team.
Dundy County Stratton earned the No. 1-seed in the playoffs with only one loss during the regular season. The 25-1 Tigers rolled through the bracket with wins over Loomis and Archangels Catholic to advance to the state championship game over the weekend. The entire community showed out!
Dundy County Stratton takes down eight-time champion Wynot 49-39 😳
— Hurrdat Sports (@HurrdatSports) March 7, 2026
The Tigers are state champions for the first time ever in Class D2.#nebpreps | @pinnbank pic.twitter.com/DLICo5bc4K
Dundy County Stratton claimed victory over juggernaut Wynot by a final score of 49-39.
Abi Spargo finished with a team-high 22 points and 12 rebounds. Her sister, Clara, finished with 10 rebounds and nine points. They and Emily Schack played approximately 30 of 32 minutes in the win.
Now the boys team has to shave their heads and wax their legs!
The Tigers did not trail until the third quarter. They ultimately pulled away during the fourth.
Lexie Yrkoski has a torn ACL and MCL.
The Spargo sisters, Schack and Kimberly Escobar were the most important contributors to win in terms of statistics. However, Lexi Yrkoski was the most impressive.
The senior guard played 16 minutes and 57 seconds in the state championship game. She did not record any significant numbers but she served as a key depth piece off of the bench and a key defender down the stretch.
And she did so without a fully functional knee. Yrkoski refused to let head coach Matt Schaub keep her out of the game and played ~17 minutes with a fully torn ACL and MCL.
“‘You’re not shutting me down, I’m playing in the finals.’”
— nebpreps (@THEnebpreps) March 7, 2026
DCS HC Matt Schaub discusses Tigers senior Lexie Yrkoski playing with a torn ACL/MCL in the state championship game against Wynot. Yrkoski played 17 minutes. pic.twitter.com/SrG1tArf3o
That’s impressive. We have seen athletes play important games with a torn ACL in the past — like when Tim Elko mashed home runs for Ole Miss during the College World Series — but I don’t know that I have seen it in basketball. It is hard enough to move laterally on defense. It is that much harder without a knee.
The Spargo sisters will receive the most credit for Dundy County Stratton’s win but Lexie Yrkoski deserves her flowers. What a warrior!