The 38th Annual State Girls Basketball Tournament completed day one of with semifinals in Divisions 4 and 5 at the Resch Center in Green Bay, Wis.
DIVISION 4
Colfax 42, The Prairie School 41
Colfax (26-1) used a solid defensive effort to edge The Prairie School (24-3) 42-41 in the Division 4 semifinal Thursday evening.
Both teams struggled shooting the ball, especially in the first half when both teams shot below 30 percent from the field. The game remained close throughout the first half with no team gaining more than a five-point advantage. The Vikings held an 18-17 lead at the half.
Colfax opened its largest lead of the game with 4:21 remaining in the third period at 27-19. However, the Hawks charged back with eight straight points to tie the game late in quarter.
The Hawks took their first lead since late in the first quarter at 37-35 with 4:27 left in the game. The score was later tied at 39-39 when the Vikings hit just enough free throws, going 3-for-6, to build a 3-point lead in down the stretch. The Hawks missed a 3-point attempt with eight seconds left in the game that would have tied the game.
Braana Steen led Colfax with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Gabrielle Ortiz paced the Hawks with 15 points.
Algoma 62, Cuba City 39
Algoma began the game with a 10-0 run to propel the Wolves to a 62-39 victory over Cuba City in the first Division 4 semifinal game Friday evening.
The Wolves’ interior game and points off transition was the story of the game. Algoma scored 40 of their points from close range and scored 19 points off turnovers.
The Cubans drew to within three points with 4:39 remaining in the first half, but the Wolves responded with a 12-0 run to extend the lead to their largest of the first half at 28-13 and 30-18 at halftime. Algoma led by as many as 20 points in the third quarter and as many as 23 in the fourth quarter to cruise to the victory.
Algoma was led by Anna Dier with 18 points, and both Taylor Schmidt and Kennedy Blahnik added 13 points. Dier and Blahnik also had 10 rebounds apiece to pace the Wolves on the boards. Chloe Pustina led Cuba City with 16 points
DIVISION 5
Barneveld 54, South Shore 45
Barneveld (27-1) will attempt to win its fifth State championship Saturday after defeating South Shore (26-1) in its semifinal match-up Thursday afternoon.
The Golden Eagles used a 9-0 scoring spurt early in the first quarter to take an 11-4 lead. They opened their biggest lead of the half just before intermission at 29-19. Barneveld built a 15-point lead in the third quarter before Megan Gustafson fueled a Cardinals’ 12-2 run with 10 points during that span.
The Cardinals could only get the Golden Eagles advantage as low as five points in the fourth quarter at 50-45 with 2:28 to play, but could get no closer.
Gustafson led all scorers in the game with 26 points for South Shore. Barneveld was led by Rachel Slaney with 15 points with Hannah Whitish adding 11 and Madi Laube chipping in with 10 points.
Assumption 60, Newman 37
Assumption (27-1) trailed 2-0, but that would be the only time the Royals would be behind the rest of the game. The Royals score seven unanswered points and extended its lead to 20-7 by the end of the first period. They had a commanding 35-16 advantage at the half.
The Royals increased its lead to 25 points, their largest of the game, on a lay-up by Mary Sigler with 2:36 left in the third period. The lead would also reach 25 points in the fourth quarter. Newman Catholic (20-8) could not reduce their deficit to any less than 20 points in the final period.
Sigler led the Royals with 17 points and Gena Grundhoffer added 15 points. The Fighting Cardinals were led by Kimberley Steif with eight points.
The Royals advance to the Division 5 championship final Saturday at 11:05 a.m.