Sectional championship games are set in the W.I.A.A. Girls State Basketball Tournament. Semifinal games were played Thursday night with winners heading to sectional finals on Saturday to determine the field for the 5 Division Tournament next week at the Resch Center in Green Bay.
Here are the results.
Division 1 – Top ranked Appleton North improved to 25-0 on the season by beating Appleton West 61-47. The Lightning will play Chippewa Falls at D.C. Everest Saturday afternoon at 1:00 PM. The winner of that game will play the winner of the second ranked Milwaukee King game against ninth ranked Oak Creek.
The FRCC champion De Pere Redbirds fought off two Sheboygan North rallies by making eight straight free throws down the stretch for a 53-45 victory. Oliva DeCleene led the 4th ranked Redbirds with 15 points. De Pere will face third ranked Germantown in the sectional final at 4:00 PM at Whitefish Bay on Saturday. The other half of that bracket will feature 7th ranked Middleton, which beat number 6 Mukwonago, against 10th ranked Madison East which knocked out number 8 Sun Prairie Thursday night.
Division 2 – Three top 10 teams were bounced out in the semifinal round including #4 West De Pere, falling to Seymour 51-47 as Hailey Oskey poured in 25 points for the Thunder. Seymour will draw top ranked Beaver Dam in the sectional final at 1:00 PM in Neenah. Sixth ranked Monroe upset number 2 Stoughton to advance against Milton. 8th ranked Hortonville survived 55-40 against new London. The Polar Bears will face Menomonie in the sectional final at 1:00 PM at Eau Claire North. The other bracket had Cudahy upset 7th ranked New Berlin Eisenhower earning a date with Wauwatosa East.
Division 3 – There was a thriller on the Lakeshore as sixth ranked Wrightstown defeated Kewaunee 60-57 in overtime. Freshman Bridgette Froehlke scored 21 points and hit the go ahead three in overtime for the now 22-3 Tigers. Wrightstown will face Amherst, a 36-35 upset winner over 5th ranked Freedom, Saturday afternoon at 1:00 PM at Green Bay Preble High School. A monster showdown on the other half of that bracket had number 2 Madison Edgewood knock out top ranked Whitewater. Third ranked Martin Luther will face Waupun and 8th ranked Bloomer will go against Somerset in the other D3 Sectional finals.
Division 4 – 6th ranked Howard’s Grove rallied past Fon du Lac Springs 48-41 to advance against Kenosha St. Joseph’s. That game will tip at 4:00 PM at Brown Deer. #10 Durand will face Cameron in another final. Shiocton defeated Manitowoc Lutheran 67-58 to face 9th ranked Wittenberg-Birnamwood at Waupaca at 4:00 PM. Top ranked LaCrosse Aquinas will face Darlington.
Division 5 – Green Bay NEW Lutheran is a win away from their first ever trip to state after defeating Elcho 62-54, pouring in 43 second half points. The Blazers will face seventh ranked Loyal at 1:00 PM at Waupaca High School. The other half of that bracket will have number 4 Bangor against number 5 Shullsburg. 10th ranked Milwaukee Academy of Science defeated Hilbert 68-58 to advance against Fall River. Number one ranked Clayton moved on to face Mercer.
The Girls State tournament will begin Thursday, March 9 at Green Bay’s Resch Center.
