GREEN BAY, Wis. – It is hard to win a championship and it’s harder to defend one. But perhaps the most difficult task is taking out a champion.
McFarland learned that lesson Friday after it traded haymakers with two-time defending WIAA Division 2 state champion Notre Dame all game long. But in the end, it was the Lady Tritons who made the plays that enabled them to escape with a 76-70 victory at the Resch Center in a WIAA Girls’ Basketball State Tournament semifinal.
It marked the second time Friday that the Division 2 state record for combined points by two teams in a single game was broken. Pewaukee and Lakeland held the mark for about 2 hours with 143 points.
The victory set the stage for the most anticipated game of this year’s tournament – a rematch of last year’s Division 2 final with second-seeded Notre Dame taking on top-seed Pewaukee.
Of course, in the final Wisconsin basketball coaches’ poll of the season, it was Notre Dame ranked No. 1 and Pewaukee No. 2. Both teams enter Saturday’s 6:30 p.m. final with 28-1 records.
But the game almost didn’t happen as Notre Dame had to dig deep – very deep – to hold off the Spartans.
Trailing by three at the half, the Lady Tritons picked up their defensive effort and eventually had all the momentum on their side, leading 64-54 with 7:53 to play. But the Spartans came roaring back and trailed 64-63 with 2:42 left.
From that point on, though, Notre Dame had an answer for every McFarland threat.
The Lady Tritons made 7-of-8 free throws down the stretch and, the only one they missed, they corralled the offensive rebound.
Teagan Mallegni and Ava Dean scored 23 points apiece to lead the Spartans. Elise Freeman added 11.
Gracie Grzesk led the Lady Tritons with 20 points. Trista Fayta added 18 points, Sydney Whitehouse 17 and Hope Barrington 15.
“It was a great game,” said Fayta, who made 3-of-4 free throws in the final 22 seconds. “It was a great start before Pewaukee. I didn’t think we played our best game, but we pulled it off.”
The two teams’ season will end the way it began. Pewaukee opened the season with a 68-67 home victory over Notre Dame. So, the final game over this one-year span represents the rubber match with another state title on the line.
“It’s what we’ve been working for all year,” said Pewaukee’s Amy Terrian. “They’ve (the Lady Tritons) had this game circled since the moment they walked out of our high school the first game. We’ll be ready and we’ve got to play a full 36 (minutes)."
Division 2
Pewaukee 80, Lakeland 63
Size matters, but not always.
Despite a decided height advantage for Lakeland, it was Pewaukee’s ability to rebound on both ends of the floor that was the difference as it opened up a 41-24 halftime lead.
And that would prove to be more than enough as the Thunderbirds could get no closer than 13 points the rest of the game.
Pewaukee held a 20-12 rebounding edge in the first half, and its 12 offensive rebounds led to 10 second-chance points.
While both teams each connected on more than 40% of the field goals, it was the Pirates’ ability to put up more shots that was the difference. Lakeland ended the first half making 8-of-18 field goals (44%). But Pewaukee got off 38 shots, making 16 (42%).
Lakeland’s Julianna Quimette led all scorers with 30 points. Kristina Quimette and Lily Fortier added 10 points each for the Thunderbirds (22-7).
Sophomore sisters Amy and Anna Terrian led the Pirates. Amy poured in 26 points while Anna added 15. Freshman Giselle Janowski chipped in 14 points.
The combined 143 points set a Division 3 record for total points by two teams in a single game. Pewaukee set another Division 3 record for most assists in a game with 20.
Division 4
Brookfield East 65, Germantown 60
Ask Brookfield East if it’s tough to beat a team three times in a season.
After victories over Germantown by 26 and 14 points this season, the Spartans trailed for 26:23 in their third meeting with the Warhawks in the state semifinals.
Steadily chipping away from a nine-point halftime deficit, Addison Doyle’s three-ball gave Brookfield East its first lead of the game, 54-52, since the 13:16 mark of the first half. Germantown came back and tied the game at 58-58 on a pair of free throws from KK Arnold with 1:18 remaining.
Then Annika Pluemer took over. Her three-pointer gave East a 61-58 lead and, after Arnold missed a driving layup, Pluemer was fouled and hit both ends of the bonus for a 63-58 Spartans’ lead with 28 seconds left. East then hit two more free throws in the final seconds to secure the win and advance to Saturday’s Division 1 championship game against defending champion Kettle Moraine (27-1).
In the end, it came down to three-point shooting as Brookfield East (27-2) made 9-of-28 attempts while Germantown made just 2-of-11.
Maya Kovacic` led the Spartans with 21 points. Pluemer added 19 while Doyle and Maddy McGath contributed 11 apiece.
Madeline Jakusz led Germantown (23-6) with 19 points. Arnold added 17 and Mary Leininger 10.
Kettle Moraine 77, Hortonville 67
The Lasers earned a chance to defend their 2022 state championship after dropping the Polar Bears.
This game turned in the final 9 minutes of the first half.
Hortonville was in charge, leading 21-11 after a Jada Stuewer putback with 8:40 left.
But that’s the last basket it would score in the half, managing only three free throws the rest of the half.
That allowed Kettle Moraine to close the half on a 24-3 run to take a 35-24 lead into the locker room.
The Lasers made 48% of their field goals in the first half, compared to 33% for Hortonville.
Kettle Moraine expanded its lead to 18 points with 13:01 to play in the game, but then it was the Polar Bears’ turn to rally.
A three-pointer by Leah Heraly pulled Hortonville within 54-48 with 8:43 to play. After the Lasers built their lead back up to 10, the Polar Bears came back again. Rainey Welson’s three-pointer on the fast break got Hortonville within six points again with 1:15 left.
But once more Kettle Moraine pushed it back out to 10 points with 49 seconds to play to seal the victory.
Grace Grocholski led Kettle Moraine with 21 points and 14 rebounds. Briana Binagi added 14 points, Riley Haertle 13 and Braelyn Torres 12.
Wilson topped Hortonville (25-4) 28 points. Trinity Mocadlo added 15 points and Mikayla 13.
Division 1
McDonell Catholic 59, Albany 20
The Macks raced out to a 6-0 lead and never looked back as they cruised into the championship game.
McDonell (25-5) will take on Blair-Taylor (28-1) Saturday at 11 a.m. for the Division 5 state title.
A 36% shooting team on the year, McDonell made 16-of-30 field goals in the first half (53%) as it took a 35-11 lead into the locker room.
There wasn’t much the Macks didn’t do right, as they scored 12 points off 10 Albany turnovers and dominated the inside, scoring 24 points in the paint compared to 4 for the Comets in the first half.
McDonnell then opened the second half with a 14-0 run to put the game out of reach.
The Macks, who finished the game shooting 52% (27-of-52), were led by Aubrey Dorn with 16 points. Isabel Hartman added 10 points.
Albany (28-1) struggled all game shooting the ball and finished making 7-of-42 shots (17%).
The Comets were led by Abby Hollis with eight points.
Blair-Taylor 55, Wabeno/Laona 26
The Wildcats also rode a strong first-half performance to punch their ticket to the Division 5 title game.
Blair-Taylor grabbed a quick 7-0 advantage and kept building the lead, reaching 22 points (27-5) with 6:04 left in the first half.
Defensively, the Wildcats had 9 steals and forced 11 turnovers which they turned into 13 points. The Wildcats also shot a crisp 42% on three-pointers, with Kierstyn Kindschy getting all 9 of her points from beyond the arc.
The Rebels had no success scoring from deep, as they were 0-11 from three-point range in the first half. They shot just 20% as a team (5-of-25).
The Rebels never got closer than 17 points the rest of the way. For the game, the Rebels finished 0-of-19 from three-point range.
Abby Thompson led Blair-Taylor with 18 points while Lindsay Stein added 16. Grace Krawze and Malerie Krawze each scored 6 points to lead the Rebels (21-8).