The third time was the charm for the McDonell Central Catholic Macks as they defeated Blair-Taylor 61-46 to win the WIAA Girls State Division 5 basketball championship at the Resch Center. The Chippewa Falls school made it to the state tournament in each of the last three seasons only to get bounced in the semifinals twice previously. They weren’t to be denied this time, jumping out to leads of 7-0 and 14-4 against the Wildcats, making their first ever appearance at state. Blair-Taylor rallied to close the gap to 27-23 by halftime and got even with the Macks at 27 early in the second half but McDonell Central regained control and steadily built the lead back to double digits. Blair-Taylor was led by Abby Thompson and Lindsay Steien with 15 points each as they finished an outstanding season at 28-2. The Macks had four players in double figures led by Abby Dorn with 16. Marley Hughes and Emily Cooper chipped in with 14 and Isabel Hartman added 10. The Macks finished 26-5 and will bring home the first gold ball in school history for their effort.
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