DIVISION 3
Hayward 50, Edgewood 49
Hayward (26-1) advanced to the Division 3 championship final with a 50-49 win over Edgewood in the semifinals Thursday afternoon at the Resch Center in Green Bay.
Trailing 49-48 with six seconds remaining in the game, Madelyn Neff converted a pair of free throws to provide the margin of victory for the Hurricanes. The Hurricanes led twice in the game, the first at 2-0 and then at the end of the game.
The Crusaders led by as many as 12 points in the first half, but Hayward cut the deficit to 30-24 at halftime with six points in the final 1:30 of the half.
Neff led all scorers with 23 points for the Hurricanes and made 11-of-12 free throws to go with seven rebounds. Katie Stark contributed nine points and seven rebounds.
Estella Moschkau led Edgewood (20-7) with 20 points and 13 rebounds. Katie Meriggioli and Caitlin Link each added 12 points for the Crusaders.
Hayward will make its first-ever appearance in the title game, and the Crusaders fall in the semifinals of their first State Tournament appearance.
Milwaukee School of Languages 48, Xavier 34
Milwaukee School of Languages (21-4) advances to the Division 3 finals in its first appearance with a 48-34 win over 2015 runner-up Xavier in the semifinals Thursday afternoon.
The score remained close throughout the first half, Xavier had the largest lead of that half at six points, 8-2, following a pair of three-pointers by Kayla Gresl at the 12:20 mark. The game was tied four times throughout the first half, and Xavier led 17-15 at the half.
A 17-3 MSL run in the first 10 minutes of the second half led to a 32-20 advantage. MSL led by as many as 16 points at the 4:26 point of the second half, and Xavier would get no closer than 12 points the rest of the game.
Zheniah Jackson led Milwaukee School of Languages with a game-high 26 points, and Breahna Butler added 10 points and four steals, as the MSL defense forced 20 Xavier turnovers in the game. Xavier (18-9) was led by Gresl with 16 points.
DIVISION 4
Kenosha St. Joseph 61, Marathon 59
Kenosha St. Joseph (25-2) advances to the Division 4 championship final with a 61-59 win over Marathon in the semifinals Thursday evening.
Marathon led 30-28 at halftime, but the Lancers went on a 13-3 run in the second half to build its largest lead of the game at 47-38 with 9:46 to play. The Red Raiders fought back to tie the game at 56-56 with 1:44 remaining.
Trailing 61-59 with 32 seconds left on the clock, the Red Raiders had opportunities to tie the game, but their final three shots missed the mark.
Sidney Cooks led the Lancers with 21 points, 17 rebounds and six blocked shots. Starletta Keene added 17 points, and Jalah Harris contributed 15 points and nine rebounds. The Red Raiders were led by Morgan Rachu with a game-high 22 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Olivia Meurette tossed in 12 points, and Alysha Stieber added 10.
The Lancers held a 36-20 advantage in rebounding, and the Red Raiders struggled at the free throw line, converting on 8-of-18 attempts.
The Lancers advance to the championship final Saturday in their first State Tournament appearance, and Marathon (23-4) completes its season with its sixth tourney appearance.
Mineral Point 77, Regis 56
Mineral Point (25-2) posted a 77-56 victory over Regis in the Division 4 semifinals to advance to the title game Saturday in its first-ever State Tournament appearance.
The Pointers made 4-of-6 three-pointers in the first half to ignite the offense, including three by Sydney Staver. Trailing 21-20 at the 5:50 mark of the first half, the Pointers went on a 20-6 run to end the half and take control of the game and a 40-27 lead at the half.
The closest the Ramblers would get in the second half is nine points at 40-31 early in the period. The Pointers built their lead to as many as 24 points at 74-50 following an 11-0 run with just over three minutes to play in the game.
Clara Chambers led all scorers with 19 points for the Pointers. Staver and Jessica Schultz each added 16 points apiece. Mineral Point controlled the glass, outrebounding Regis 43-29 led by Schultz’s 12 boards.
Regis was led in scoring by Shae Brey and Hannah Gibbons with 16 points each, and Hannah Anderson tossed in 11 points.
Regis (22-5) ends its season with its sixth State Tournament appearance.