RESCH CENTER, Wis. (WBAY) – Five northeast Wisconsin high schools have their girls basketball hopes and dreams riding on Saturday’s championship games.
All 5 divisions have area schools represented in their championship matchups, with Lena, Laconia, Xavier, Notre Dame, and Neenah all taking care of business in their semifinal matchups. For all of Saturday’s action, you can find live stats on the WIAA website and watch all the games on our ABC affiliate WKOW’s website.
DIVISION 5: #2 Lena: 54 vs #4 Albany/Monticello: 57 FINAL/OT
Lena is back in the state tournament for the first time in 33 years, while Albany/Monticello is in their first year of existence as a co-op team, meaning each team is looking to put a bow on a special season.
The Space Stallions punched their ticket to the title game first, avenging two of their regular-season losses with a 37-31 defeat of #1 seed Argyle/Pecatonica. They always say it’s hard to beat a team three times, and Albany/Monticello proved it, hanging right with Argyle/Pecatonica thanks to 23 chances at the charity stripe. The Space Stallions went 15-23 and outscored their opponent 18-12 in the 2nd half.
Before this year, Lena hadn’t seen the state basketball tournament courts since they were runners-up in 1991, a year after winning it all. On Friday, they were given a refresher on the intensity, walking off the court with a 5-point win over #3-seed Clear Lake. The game was as close as the score looked, nearly mirroring each other in rebounds, turnovers, and 3-point shooting. Lena shot nearly 15% better from the field and scored 20 points off of turnovers compared to Clear Lake’s 10, which was enough to overcome shooting 9-26 from the free-throw line.
“It was so cool to play in, such a good experience and everything. I’ve never thought of playing somewhere so big. So it was really cool. ,” said Lena junior Eva Brooks, who dropped 23 against Clear Lake.
“I thought it was great experience especially now that we’re going into tomorrow so we know what to expect. It was just awesome seeing all the people there,” said Madi Thomson, a sophomore who scored 12 and added 11 rebounds in the win.
In Saturday’s title game, the Wildcats gave the Space Stallions just about all they could handle, matching them step for step in regulation. They nearly doubled up Albany/Monticello on rebounds, grabbing 48, 36 of them on defense. But 23 turnovers lost sank the Wildcats in the end, with the Space Stallions turning them into 18 points. 4 of those turnovers came in the last 4 minutes of the game and, combined with a 2-minute scoring drought, would leave Lena just short of their first title in 34 years.
DIVISION 4: #1 Laconia: 47 vs #3 Cuba City: 43 FINAL
The top-seeded reigning champion Spartans are looking to go back-to-back as they line up with Cuba City on Saturday in their third straight title game appearance. They line up against a team that has a jam-packed trophy case, as the Cubans have been to 17 state tournaments, the most in Wisconsin girls basketball history.
On Thursday, Laconia handled #4 seed The Prairie School, leading by 4 at the half and then locking down on D to secure a 67-49 win. The Prairie School went just 18-56 from the field and were outrebounded 25-47, and their top scorer, Jasonya Glass-Barnes, fouled out with 20 points. The Spartans’ attack was led by Tierney Madigan’s 20 points and 16 rebounds, with Molly Duel and Finley Morgan adding 18 and 13 points respectively.
Cuba City did not have as easy a time against McDonell Catholic, needing every second on the clock to secure their spot in the championship game. The Cubans made a key block on McDonell’s Ella May Cooper and turned it into a two from Ashley Rowe, plus a free throw to close out a 48-45 win. Neither team had a lead bigger than 5, and ended the 1st half tied at 23. McDonell Catholic shot 20-59 from the field, going only 4-16 from three despite pulling down 15 offensive boards. The Cubans shot 37%, making 7 of 17 threes and going 9-11 from the free-throw line.
This season’s title game was much closer than Laconia’s 13-point win over Aquinas last season, but a state title is a state title no matter the score. The Cubans and Spartans played each other hard, both teams shooting under 30% and limiting second-chance points for the other with strong defensive rebounding. Cuba City took a 4-point lead into the break, but key shots from the Spartans, including two Payton Morgan threes with under 6 minutes to play, and a poorly-timed cold stretch from the Cubans would see Laconia’s back-to-back come to fruition.
DIVISION 3: #3 Xavier: 52 vs #1 Edgewood: 55 FINAL
Xavier is back in the state tournament for the first time in 8 years, marking their third appearance all-time. The team of girls who were in elementary school when Xavier went to the Resch in 2015 and 2016 won the Bay Conference and are hoping to turn childhood dreams into reality. They line up against a top-seeded Edgewood team who last saw the courts at the Resch Center in 2017. The Crusaders finished second in the Badger Small Conference and enter on a 14-game win streak.
Xavier went down to the wire with the Kettle Moraine Lutheran Chargers on Thursday, pulling through with a 56-52 win. Both teams stayed very close throughout the entire game, Kettle Moraine being buoyed by an unreal game from Makenzie Luehring, who dropped 32 points on 11-24 shooting. Xavier got 20 points from Elle Krull and 14 from Molly Martine. Krull proved to be the difference, hitting a 3 in the final two minutes and then drawing a 3-shot foul to form the bulk of an 8-0 run that closed out the game and pushed the Hawks to the championship game.
Edgewood needed much less drama to punch their ticket, blanketing Baldwin-Woodville over the last 8 minutes on the way to a 62-29 victory on Thursday. The Blackhawks went 2 for their last 10 shots, had 5 turnovers in the last 7 minutes, and didn’t score for the last 4+ minutes. The Crusaders had snuffed out the hope of the Blackhawks much earlier, however, with a 26-2 run that started with 12 minutes left in the 1st and lasted for nearly 8 minutes. The lead was 39-15 at the half, and Edgewood kept the pace for the 2nd, ending a historic season for the Blackhawks, who were the first basketball team in school history to make the state tournament.
Xavier held the edge at the halfway point of Saturday’s championship game, but a 34-point half from Edgewood would leave the Hawks unable to catch up. 4 Hawks were over 5 points through the 1st half, Kylee Standish, Halle Vande Hey, Carsyn Stempa, and Elle Krull combining for 23 of their 29, but only Stempa would cross the threshold in the 2nd half. Edgewood was led by Erin Schauer’s 9 points in the 1st, but saw Anna Miller take control in the 2nd, scoring 18 of her 20 points and going 7-10 from the field. Miller would end up scoring more in the last 8 minutes of the game than Xavier’s entire team, as the Hawks’ only field goals were a Stempa three with 7 minutes left to make it 47-43 and a Stempa three with 1 second left on the clock to make it 52-55.
DIVISION 2: #2 Notre Dame: 52 vs #1 Pewaukee: 60 FINAL
Notre Dame is now just one win away from a truly historic 4-peat as champions at Division 2, squaring off against a familiar foe in Pewaukee. The 28-1 Tritons have been utterly dominant this season, entering the championship game on a 28-game winning streak. During the regular season, they won six games by 100+ points, including a 122-6 drubbing of Sheboygan South in February.
However, that one lone loss for Notre Dame? 60-52 in the season-opener against Pewaukee. The Pewaukee Pirates faced off against Notre Dame each of the last two seasons, and now, as the #1 seed, are looking to make the third time the charm.
Notre Dame rolled through #3 seed Wauwatosa East on Friday, shooting nearly 60% from the floor, forcing 16 turnovers, and grabbing 16 more boards than the Red Raiders en route to an 82-44 win. The entire starting lineup was in double digits for points, with Illinois State commit Trista Fayta and Wisconsin commit Gracie Grzesk both adding 10 assists. Fayta led the team with 18 points. Mikaia Litza scored 21 of Wauwatosa East’s 44 points, shooting 8-11 on the day.
Pewaukee handled their semifinal opponent, West Salem, in similar fashion, winning 79-41 and shooting just over 50% from the field. The Pirates forced 20 turnovers and grabbed 43 rebounds compared to West Salem’s 20. Amy and Anna Terrian led the way for Pewaukee, scoring 19 and 17 points respectively, with Amy grabbing 8 rebounds with 10 dimes and Anna grabbing 6 rebounds.
“They came in with a gameplan and it kinda startled us, but this time around, that’s not gonna happen,’ said Grezesk when asked about a rematch with Pewaukee. “We need to come ready and just play our game and focus on what we need to get done and not what they’re doing”
“We weren’t really ready at the beginning of the season,” said Fayta about the first game against Pewaukee. “We weren’t as conditioned as we are now. It’s a bigger floor, lot more people. I think we’re good now and ready to play them.”
Saturday’s quest for a 4-peat came up just short for the Notre Dame Tritons, dropping another game this year to the Pirates. The Tritons fell victim to the charity stripe, giving Pewaukee 23 attempts at free points, and they capitalized on 20 of them. Notre Dame shot 48% on 46 attempts from the field, and made most of them in the paint, but turned 11 forced turnovers into just 9 points. Pewaukee shot 40% on 43 field goal attempts, including 21 of them from beyond the arc, but they made every Triton turnover hurt, turning 15 of them into 21 points.
Notre Dame had four players in double digits, Trista Fayta leading the way with 13 on 6-15 shooting, with Kaia Waldrop, Sydney Whitehouse, and Peyton Musial adding on. Gracie Grzesk was stifled by the Pirates defense, scoring just 5 points on 5 shots. Pewaukee got 20 from Gisel Janowski, 18 from Amy Terrian, and 14 from Kennedy Retherford.
Notre Dame started off on the wrong foot, Pewaukee jumping out to a 15-4 lead through almost 9 minutes. They would tie it at 26 with under 3 minutes to go in the first half, but the game trends would hold, and the Tritons would go shotless in the last 2:30 of the game, starting just after cutting the Pewaukee lead to 1.
DIVISION 1: #3 Neenah: 59 vs #1 Arrowhead: 69 FINAL
With the newest Ms. Basketball and a veteran group who beat a Hortonville team that had given them fits all year, Neenah is looking to continue a trend of winning by 25+ points and capture a state title in their first tournament appearance since 2009. Top-seeded Arrowhead is looking to keep their momentum from a sectional that saw them beat a previously unbeaten Oregon team going in their first state tournament appearance since 2018. They haven’t won a title since 1991, while Neenah’s last title was in 1978.
Fresh off being named Ms. Basketball by the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association, Allie Ziebell took over in the semifinal matchup against Hartford. She shot 11-24, good for 40 points alongside a 16-20 performance at the charity stripe, dished out 5 assists, and grabbed 19 rebounds in a 77-70 win. Addie Fischer added 13 points of her own, shooting 3-4 from beyond the arc. Hartford’s attack was led by the tandem of Makena Christian and Rita Kuepper, adding 23 and 21 points respectively. Both teams were nearly even in most stat categories, Neenah going 23-56 from the field with 10 turnovers and 39 rebounds, and Hartford going 23-58 with 13 turnovers and 33 rebounds.
Arrowhead rolled to a 27-point victory on Friday, scoring exactly 41 points in each half to win 82-55 over Franklin. They rained threes onto the Sabers, going 12-25 in addition to 19-40 from inside the arc. The Warhawks also forced 20 turnovers and pulled down 38 boards in the win. Natalie Kussow went 11-18 for 33 of Arrowhead’s points, including 6 threes, while Libby Gilmore had 15 of her own and 8 rebounds and Presly Samz recorded 11 dimes. Natalie Meaux led Franklin’s effort, scoring 24 on 9-20 shooting, but also turning the ball over 8 times.
Abbie Ziebell put in another strong performance against Arrowhead, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the top-seeded Warhawks. She went 14-29 from the field, 7 of her makes from beyond the arc, to put up 35 points with no free throws this time. Unfortunately, she, Rowan Klesmit, Abbie Fischer, and Amaya Jones were the only four players to score for the Rockets, while Arrowhead had 6 of their 8 players score, including 26 from Natalie Kussow and 12 from Erica Bub. The Warhawks shot 50%, forced 13 turnovers, and dominated in the paint and on the fast break to win the school’s third state title.
