Xavier advances to the title game for Division 3 following a 44-34 triumph over Hayward in the semifinals.
The Hawks (24-4) applied its defensive assertiveness in the second quarter to erase a 9-8 deficit at the end of one quarter of play. They held the Hurricanes (24-3) to two points in the second quarter to take a 19-10 lead at the half.
Xavier led by as many as 15 points in the second half and the closest the Hurricanes could get was eight points with three minutes to play in the game. However, the Hawks secured the victory by converting 5-of-5 from the free throw line to close the game.
Peyton Ufi led the Hawks with 17 points and nine rebounds. Kayla Gresl came off the bench to add 12 points. Katie Stark provided most of the scoring for the Hurricanes with 14 points. Hayward hit on just 22 percent of its shots in the game, and the Hawks converted at a 35 percent clip despite missing all 10 of their 3-point attempts.
The Hawks advance to the final in their first appearance at the State Tournament.
Whitewater remained undefeated at 27-0 with a convincing 47-30 win over defending champion Kettle Moraine Lutheran in the Division 3 semifinals.
The Whippets used a swarming defense and hard work on the boards to gain control of the game. They held KML to 26 percent shooting and forced 24 turnovers, which helped overcome 29 turnovers of their own. Whitewater had a significant edge on the boards, out-rebounding the Chargers 45-31.
Rebekah Schumacher led Whitewater with 14 points, and Sarah Schumacher added 13 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Myriama Smith-Traore also helped control the glass with 13 rebounds to go with her seven points.
Kettle Moraine Lutheran (20-7) was led by Mikayla Voight with 16 points, the only player to reach double figures. The Chargers were victim of a slow start, not scoring for the first four minutes of the game and forced to play catch-up the rest of the game.
The Whippets advance to tomorrow’s final at 2:30 p.m. attempting to become the first undefeated Division 3 champion since Cuba City went 29-0 in capturing the title in 2010.
Defending champion Cuba City will return to the title game following a 62-56 win over St. Mary’s Springs in the Division 4 semifinals.
The Cubans broke open a 16-16 tie in the second period with a 12-2 run to open its largest lead of the first half, but the Ledgers answered with a 10-1 run to narrow the deficit to one late in the second quarter. Cuba City shot well in the first half, hitting 50 percent of its shots; however, the Ledgers advantage was on the offensive glass and at the charity stripe. They grabbed 12 offensive rebounds and made 10-of-13 free throws.
The Cubans opened its biggest lead of the game at 57-45 midway through the fourth quarter and converted enough free throws in the final minute of the game to extinguish any hopes the Ledgers had of a comeback.
Mollie Widige led three Cubans in double figures with 19 points. She also was the team leader in rebounds with nine. Jessi Marti added 16 points, and Kailyn Kaiser contributed with 11. Kelli Schrauth led all scorers and rebounders with 25 points and 12 boards for the Ledgers (24-3). Liz Bohn chipped in with 13 points.
Cuba City (27-0) seeks its membership-leading 11th State title Saturday.
Fall Creek (25-2) withstood a fourth quarter charge by Marathon (25-2) to advance to the Division 4 final with a 56-51 victory over the Red Raiders.
The Crickets led by eight points heading into the fourth quarter, but Marathon erased the lead and took a 42-41 lead at the 3:33 remaining in the game. However the Red Raiders missed golden opportunities when lay-ups failed to fall.
Tatum Mayenshein converted a free throw and a traditional three-point play to give the Crickets back the lead. She responded on the defensive end with a steal that resulted in a pair of free throws by Whitney Folkers . Fall Creek sealed the victory at the free throw line down the stretch.
Mayenshein led all scorers with 18 points for the Crickets. Olivia Burghardt and Shayna Hohlfelder scored in double figures with 13 and 10 points, respectively. The Crickets shot 53 percent for the game, including a 67 percent clip in the second half.
Olivia Meurette led a balanced attack for the Red Raiders with 13 points. Emily Kind and Natsha Hanke contributed 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Fall Creek makes its ninth appearance in the State Tournament final, having won four times.
Defending champion Barneveld and Assumption will be meeting in the Division 5 title game of the State Girls Basketball Tournament for the third consecutive year.
Each advanced with relative ease in their respective semifinal match-up.
Barneveld (26-1) never trailed in its 66-34 win over Fall River. The Golden Eagles bolted to a 23-6 lead to start the game, fueled by the hot shooting hand of Hannah Whitish. She set a State Tournament record for 3-pointers made a game by connecting on five-of-eight shots. The Golden Eagles set a State team record with eight 3-pointers in the game.
Barneveld shot 58 percent in the first half, including all eight of its 3-pointers. The Golden Eagle defensive pressure forced 24 Pirate turnovers.
Whitish led all scorers with 25 points. She also recorded a team-leading eight rebounds, six steals and four assists. Rachel Slaney added 15 points. The Pirates (24-4) were led by Kelly Tramburg with 10 points. In contrast to Barneveld’s prowess from beyond the arc, Fall River converted just 1-of-12 from long distance.
Assumption (26-2) used a tenacious defense to force 30 turnovers in a 57-43 win over South Shore (24-4).
The Royals used a 12-1 scoring run to put separation between them and the Cardinals in the first quarter. Assumption built a 35-16 halftime lead by scoring on many of South Shore’s 18 first-half turnovers.
Assumption led by as many as 24 in the second half before the Cardinals battled back to pull within 10 points with just over four minutes to play in the game, but could get no closer.
Megan Gustafson did all she could the keep the Cardinals close, scoring 30 points to set a State Division 5 Tournament record for most points in a single game. She also pulled down 18 rebounds and blocked seven shots, which also set a Division 5 record.
The Royals’ balanced offensive attack had three players score in double figures. Macie Zurfluh led the way with 15 points. Gena Grundhoffer added 14 and Macyn Krings chipped in with 11. Zurfluh also led the Royals with eight steals, which ties a State Division 5 record for a single game.
Barneveld won the championship last year with a 38-34 win over the Royals. Assumption won the match-up between the two teams in the Division 5 title game in 2013, defeating the Golden Eagles 39-35. Earlier this year, the two teams met during the regular season with Assumption posting a 52-51 victory.