Superior (24-3) advances to the State title game for the first time in school history following its 51-49 victory over last season’s runner-up Mukwonago (20-7) in the Division 1 semifinals Friday evening at the Resch Center in Green Bay.
With the score tied at 49-49, Superior’s Jessica Lindstrom rebounded a Hailey Kontny miss and was fouled on the put back with less than one second remaining in the game. She converted both free throws to punch the Spartan’s ticket into the title game.
The teams played to a 22-22 tie through the first 15:58 of the first half when Bre Cera got loose underneath to give the Indians a 24-22 halftime lead. The lead changed hands six times with four ties through the first two quarters.
Both teams possessed leads in a tightly contested third quarter with three ties and three lead changes. The Spartans led by as many as five points in the fourth quarter.
Lindstrom had 20 points and 18 rebounds for the Spartans. Kontny chipped in with 11 points and 11 rebounds, and Alyssa Correll added 12 points. Cera led Mukwonago in scoring with 20 points. The game had 10 ties and nine lead changes.
Oak Creek (25-2) survived a 46-40 overtime win against Kimberly (26-1) in its State semifinals to advance to the Division 1 championship game Saturday.
The Knights came back from a five-point deficit with a minute to play in regulation to tie the game. Stephanie Kostowicz got loose for a lay-up with inbounds play with two seconds to play to send the game into overtime.
A lay-up by Tamya Sims and 6-of-8 shooting from the charity stripe in overtime propelled the Knight into Saturday’s championship final.
In the end, the Papermakers couldn’t overcome their difficulty in putting the ball in the basket. They hit on just 28 percent of their field goal attempts and converted just 14-of-26 free throws in the game, which would prove costly.
The Knights scored 10 of the game’s first 12 points and held on to a 12-4 advantage at the end of the first quarter. The Papermakers struggled finding the mark in the first half, hitting on just 29 percent of its shots. Oak Creek shot 53 percent from the floor and led 21-16 at halftime.
The Knights expanded their halftime lead to nine points, when the momentum began to shift the Papermakers’ way. They made a lay-up to tie the game at 27-27 in the final seconds of the third quarter and took their first lead of the game early in the fourth quarter.
Katie Finn led the Knights with 16 points, including 6-of-7 from the foul line in pressure situations. Sims added 10 points. The Papermakers were led in scoring by Jenna Smarzinski with 11 points. Marley Chevalier also scored in double figures with 10 points.
Superior plays Oak Creek for the Division 1 championship Saturday at 8:15 p.m.