Division 1
Oak Creek (26-2) won its first State championship with a record-setting 73-52 win over Superior (24-4) in the Division 1 championship game Saturday evening at the Resch Center in Green Bay. The 73 points represents the points in a Division 1 title game.
The Knights’ torrid shooting set a State Tournament Division 1 record for a single game. They hit 25-of-37 (.676) shots from the field.
The Knights opened the game by outscoring the Spartans 16-4 through the first three minutes. However, Superior went on 10-0 run to get within a pair prior to the end of the quarter.
The Spartans took their only lead of the first half on a 3-pointer by Mackenzie Kmecik at the 7:04 mark of the second quarter. Less than a minute later, the Knights would retake the lead for good. They built a nine-point cushion by halftime at 36-27.
The Knights erased any doubts of the outcome in the third quarter by going on an 11-2 run over a three-minute span to balloon their lead to 20 at 53-33 with 2:16 to play in the period. The Spartans could get no closer than 17 the rest of the game.
Stephanie Kostowicz was the offensive leader for the Knights with 19 points to go with seven rebounds. Tamya Sims and Katie Finn also scored in double figures with 18 and 15 points, respectively.
Division 2 - Notre Dame 52, DeForest 42
Notre Dame (27-1) won its second consecutive Division 2 championship by topping DeForest (26-2) 52-42 in the championship final Saturday evening.
The Tritons began the game with a pair of 3-pointers and quickly took control of the game, leading 18-6 at the end of the first quarter. They extended their lead to as many as 16 in the second quarter before heading to the locker room with a 24-15 advantage.
Notre Dame maintained a comfortable lead through the third quarter, but DeForest narrowed the deficit to five at 44-40 with 2:38 to play in the game, but the Norskies could get no closer. The Tritons hit 5-of-6 free throws in the final 50 seconds to secure the win.
Allison LeClaire led Notre Dame with 24 points, and Eliza Campbell contributed 12 points and 11 rebounds. Kayla Goth and Cassidy Byrd each had 11 points apiece to pace the Norskies.
It is the third State championship for Notre Dame. In addition to their titles the last two seasons, the Tritons won the championship in 2001.
Division 3 - Kettle Moraine Lutheran 28, Neillsville 23
Kettle Moraine Lutheran (27-1) won its first State championship in its first-ever appearance with a 28-23 win over previously undefeated Neillsville (27-1) in the Division 3 title game Saturday afternoon.
The Chargers’ 28 points was the lowest winning score in Division 3 championship game in tournament history, and it set the mark for the lowest scoring total score for both teams combined in a Division 3 final.
Both teams were challenged to find the scoring touch. The game was scoreless until Andrea Meinert converted a couple of free throws for the Chargers with 2:47 remaining period. She added another free throw later in the quarter, and Neillsville tied the game at 3-3 with the only made field goal of the quarter with two seconds remaining.
Neillsville scored the first eight points of the second quarter to open its biggest lead of the half at 11-3. The Chargers closed the gap to 11-9 by intermission. The Warriors made 4-of-23 shots from the field in the half, and the Chargers found the mark just once in 15 attempts.
Both teams’ shooting woes continued in the second half. The Warriors experienced a span of 13:37 without a field goal that covered the final 3:26 of the first half into the fourth quarter. The Chargers led at the end of three quarters, 18-12.
Kettle Moraine Lutheran built its largest lead of the game in the fourth quarter at 20-12, but the Warriors narrowed the deficit to one point with 48 seconds remaining. Mikayla Voigt sank two free throws with 37 seconds and the Chargers clinched the victory from the charity stripe down the stretch.
Meinert led the Chargers in scoring with 13 points. She also led them on the glass with 10 rebounds. Jenny Lindner tossed in 13 points and grabbed 12 caroms.
Division 4 - Cuba City 49, Algoma 28
Cuba City won its membership-leading 10th State championship with a convincing, 49-28 win over defending champion Algoma in the Division 4 title game Saturday afternoon.
The Cubans scored the first seven points coming out of the locker room at halftime and extend their half-time lead to double digits in the third quarter at 29-18. Any hopes of a Wolves’ comeback was erased by a 14-2 Cubans’ run in the final 6:51 of the game. The
After Cuba City scored on a lay-up on its first possession, the two teams experienced a scoring drought that lasted until the Cubans doubled their lead with a bucket at the 3:52 mark of the quarter. The Wolves scored their first points of the game at 3:26 and grabbed a 9-8 lead by the end of the quarter.
The Cubans responded in the second quarter to outscore the Wolves 10-2 in the final 6:37 of the period to lead 20-16 at halftime.
Mollie Wedige was the game’s leading scorer with 18 points for the Cubans. She also snagged a game-high 15 rebounds. Jessi Marti also scored in double figures from the Cubans with 15. Kennedy Blahnik was the only Algoma player to score in double figures with 11. The Cubans pressure defense held the Wolves to 28 percent shooting for the game.
Cuba City’s other State championships came in 1977, 1980, 1990, 1991, 1993, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2010.
Division 5 - Barneveld 38, Assumption 34
Barneveld (28-0) won the Division 5 championship with a 38-34 victory over defending champion Assumption (26-3) Saturday.
The Golden Eagles won the rematch of last year’s finalists, which resulted in a 39-35 Assumption win.
With the score tied 29-29, Rachel Slaney got loose underneath the basket for a lay-up to give Barneveld its first lead of the game with 1:46 remaining in the fourth quarter. Slaney and Hannah Whitish led the Golden Eagles down the stretch, scoring the team’s final 12 points. Slaney sealed the win with a pair of free throws with one second remaining.
Assumption maintained the lead throughout the first half and led by as many as five points in the second quarter en route to a 16-13 halftime advantage. Scoring was at a premium in the first half as both teams struggled shooting. The Royals converted on 35 percent of their shots from the floor, and the Golden Eagles hit on just 22 percent. The two teams combined to shoot 0-10 from 3-point distance in the half and 0-13 for the game.
Slaney led all scorers with 13 points for the Golden Eagles. Whitish contributed with 11 points. The Royals were led by Mary Sigler with 10 points.
Barneveld captured its fifth State title. The Golden Eagles’ previous championships came in 1995, 1998, 1999 and 2005.