Run comes to an end
Generals’ first loss comes in semifinal
ASHWAUBENON - The showdown between the state's last two undefeated Division 1 teams ended up being a one-sided affair.
Appleton North knocked off Milwaukee King, 75-52, in the semifinals of the WIAA state girls basketball tournament Friday night, scoring the surprising easy victory with the help of a balanced attack offensively and an aggressive approach on defense.
For the Lightning (27-0) the victory was sweet redemption for a team that lost in the state semifinals by 28 points last year to eventual champion Verona. North will face De Pere in the championship game at 8:15 p.m. Saturday.
For King, which was ranked No. 2 in the state behind Appleton North but 18th in the USA Today national rankings, the game will have to serve as a learning experience.
“That’s a tough one,” King coach Craig Machut said. “I think Appleton North was a little better tonight, make that a decent amount better. I think the experience of their team maybe on this floor, in this arena allowed them to pull away in the second half.”
Sydnee Roby, King’s 6foot-4 sophomore center, finished with 17 points on 8for-13 shooting with 12 rebounds and six blocks. Junior point guard Tishara Morehouse, all 5-3 of her, added 11 points and nine rebounds. Senior forward Jada Patterson also scored 11 points, shooting 5 for 8.
North, meanwhile, had five players reach double digits. Junior forward Sydney Levy finished with a team-high 19 points. Junior guard Kari Brekke added 14 points.
This was a pretty clean game for North. It turned the ball over six times, an impressive total considering the break-neck pace at which it plays, and shot 60% (12 for 20) in the second half.
King, meanwhile, had 14 turnovers and shot just 23.3% (7 for 30) in the second half, especially from the perimeter.
“Most of the teams we watched play King, they sat back. They let the guards just pass it into Roby and we came in with a different mindset,” North coach Joe Russom said. “We’ve never been a passive team, so we said we’re going to attack them.”
King handled that pressure well early on, going toe-to-toe with the Lightning. The Generals led, 27-20, with 5 minutes 15 seconds left in the first half following an 8-0 run that featured a threepointer by Morehouse, a bucket inside by Roby and followed by a Roby threepoint play that pushed King’s advantage to seven.
North closed the half with a 12-4 run to take a 3231 lead. Combine the first and second halves and the Generals were on the wrong end of a 19-6 run that left them down, 40-33, with 151⁄2 minutes left.
“They played with a lot of discipline,” Machut said of North. “They played very tough as a team. Everything was precise and they reacted to everything we threw at them. That 60% - that’s pretty darn good.”
The rest of the night King tried to play catchup. It cut the deficit to three points on a couple of occasions, the last time when Roby finished inside after receiving a lob from sophomore Kaye Clark to trim North’s lead to 48-45 with 10:47 to play.
The Lightning, however, responded with a 12-3 run that pushed its advantage to 60-48 with 5:18 to play. By that point North already had spread the floor and was running down the clock. King’s chance of bring home a trophy from state was all but done.
The good news for the Generals is that like North last year, they are expected to return almost all of their team. Machut, who schedules perhaps the toughest non-conference schedule in the area, said that next year’s nonconference slate will include Mukwonago, Beaver Dam and Appleton North.
“I think we’re going to take this and use it as motivation for next season,” Roby said. “We’re going to come back harder. We just have to learn from it, take it as an experience.”
De Pere 49, Middleton 47, overtime: The Redbirds (25-2) trailed by four points in overtime before closing the game with an 8-2 run.
All the points came from the free-throw line, with senior Liz Nies going 4 for 4 to tie the game and senior guard Olivia DeCleene hitting the first of two to give her team the lead, 45-44, with 1:35 left.
Junior guard Annie Schneider led De Pere with 13 points.