The Appleton North Lightning will have a shot to become the first repeat Divisioin 1 state champions since Milwaukee Vincent won three straight a decade ago after defeating top seeded Arrowhead 52-38 in the semifinal at the Resch Center Friday night.
North (23-4) never trailed against the Warhawks and got a big game from senior Sydney Levy who poured in 20 points to go along with nine rebounds. The Lightninig scored the first six points of the game and kept Arrowhead off the board until the 10:55 mark of the first half.
The lead was just six at halftime but North went on a 12-4 run to open the second half and the Lightning defense did the rest, holding Arrowhead to 31.9% shooting (15/47) for the game.
Paige Schabo added 12 points and Kalen Klitzke chipped in with 9 as North hit 11 of 12 free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
Appleton North will face Mukwonago in the title game as the Indians held off the Oak Creek Knights 58-48 in the second semifinal. In a tight game, Oak Creek pulled to within 3 at 43-40 on a layup by Lea Finn with 7:23 left but were forced to foul and the Indians paraded to the line 43 times, making 27 free throws to quell the rally.
Grace Beyer and Angie Cera shared scoring honors with 16 points for Mukwonago with Natalie Anderson adding 14. The Indians improved to 25-2. Finn led Oak Creek (24-3) wih 11.
