5 Girls Basketball Teams Crowned Champions
Sunday, March 11th, 2018 -- 8:29 AM
5 champions were crowned on Saturday at the WIAA Girls State Basketball Tournament at the Resch Center in Green Bay.DIVISION 1
Fourth-seed and defending champion Appleton North (24-4) won its second consecutive championship in Division 1 with a 45-32 victory over Mukwonago in the final. Sydney Levy led all scorers in the game with 17 points for the Lightning. Appleton North won its second championship in its fifth appearance in the State tournament. Mukwonago (25-3) finishes runner-up in its ninth State tournament experience.
DIVISION 2
Defending champion and top-seeded Beaver Dam (25-2) won its second straight Division 2 title with a 51-41 win over New Berlin Eisenhower in the championship final. Freshman Maty Wilke led the Golden Beavers in scoring with a game-high 16 points and on the boards with seven rebounds. Beaver Dam wins its second title in its fourth State appearance and its third experience in the championship game. The Golden Beavers also have a runner-up finish in Division 1 in 1991. New Berlin Eisenhower (24-4) finished runner-up in their sixth State Tournament appearance.
DIVISION 3
Top-seeded Marshall (27-1) won the Division 3 championship with a 63-55 win over Amherst in final. Marshall cemented the title by converting on 8-of-8 free throws in the final 32 seconds, including six by freshman Mia Morel. Morel led the Cardinals in scoring with 21 points to go with nine rebounds and five assists. Heather Pearson was Amherst's leader on offense and defense. She scored 16 points with 11 rebounds, and she rejected seven shots, which ties a Division 3 State tournament record. It’s the third State championship for Marshall and the Cardinals’ first since back-to-back Class C titles in 1976-77. Amherst (26-2) finished runner-up in its seventh State tournament experience.
DIVISION 4
Top seeded Aquinas (28-0) won the battle of undefeated teams by downing second-seeded Melrose-Mindoro 68-52 in the title game to win the Division 4 championship. Aquinas also featured a balanced scoring attack with five players in double figures. Madessa Collins, Kyah Steiner and Jessa Peterson each scored 13 points, and Lexi Donarski and Courtney Becker added 11. It was the Blugolds first State title after finishing runner-up last season in their first State appearance. Melrose-Mindoro (27-1) finishes runner-up in its first experience in the State tournament.
DIVISION 5
Bangor (26-3) won its second State championship with a 39-29 win over Black Hawk in the Division 5 title game. Points came at a premium throughout the game. The combined total of 58 points by both teams set a Division 5 State tournament record for the fewest points scored in a game. Black Hawk shot 19 percent from the floor in the game, including 3-of-31 from beyond the arc. The Warriors’ shooting woes prevented them capitalizing on 28 Cardinals’ turnovers.
Emma Wittmershaus scored a game-high nine points with nine rebounds and three blocks for the Bangor. It was the third State appearance for the Cardinals. Black Hawk (28-1) finishes runner-up in its fourth State tournament appearance.
3-POINT CHALLENGE:
Hannah Belanger, a junior from Grafton, won the 2018 girls 3-Point Challenge held Saturday morning at the Resch Center in conjunction with the State Girls Basketball Tournament.
Belanger, representing Division 2, was one of 10 participants in the 3-Point Challenge, which was held for the fourth time. She scored 15 points in the final round to win the contest. Senior Brooke Hopkins of Tri-County was second with 14 points in the final round.
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