GREEN BAY, Wis. – Second-seeded Bay Port  (27-1) defeated fourth-seeded Middleton 50-49 to win the Division 1 championship of the State Girls Basketball Tournament at the Resch Center Saturday night.

Emma Nagel sank a lay-up with two seconds remaining on the game clock to give the Pirates the  victory. 

“I faked the hand off, and then three girls jumped out on Mackenzie, but I just took it to the rim and hoped for the best,” Nagel said. “I think at that moment I just had to take a deep breath. If they were going to give me the ball, I knew I had to do what I had to do to win the game.”

Middleton’s Josie Lemirande sank a three-pointer with 37 seconds remaining to erase a two-point deficit and give the Cardinals the one-point lead to set up the scenario for Nagel’s game-winning shot.

The first half was tightly contested throughout with six ties and three lead changes. The largest lead by either team was the five-point advantage Bay Port had at 27-22 with 55 seconds remaining in the first period. The Pirates led 27-24 at the half and built the largest lead of the game at 39-27 with 10:32 remaining in game. However, the Cardinals battled back to provide for the late game dramatics.

McKenzie Johnson and Emma Krueger each scored 12 points to lead the Pirates in scoring. Nagel added 11 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Grace Krause handed out a game-high four assists.
Lemerande led three Cardinals in double figures with 14 points. Sitori Tanin and Karina Bursac added 13 and 10 points, respectively. Tanin also distributed three assist and led Middleton defensively with five blocked shots and a steal.

Bay Port wins the State title for the first time in its three appearances in the State Tournament, and Middleton (22-6) finishes runner-up in its 11th experience at State.

Bay Port (27-1) 50, Middleton (22-6) 49 - Stats