Packers’ thrill ride keeps going
Defense freezes Polar Bears
ASHWAUBENON This year of firsts just keeps getting better for Cudahy.
The Packers girls basketball team has gone from first-time conference champion to firsttime state tournament qualifier and now firsttime state finalist. The team’s surprising run in the tournament continued Friday with a 4636 victory over Hortonville in a WIAA Division 2 state semifinal at the Resch Center.
The victory sends the Packers (20-7) to the title game against Beaver Dam (27-0) at 6:35 p.m. Saturday.
“Our whole mentality throughout the postseason has been one more,” junior forward Hannah Kulas said. “Just one more game. We just kept winning and there’s more and more. It’s kind of crazy to think this is the last game and everything we’ve done this season has amounted to getting to the state championship.”
To get there Cudahy had to grind out a win by harassing the Polar Bears into 26.7% shooting (12 for 45), including 21.4% (6 for 28) in the second half, controlling the tempo and weathering foul trouble and turnovers in the second half.
Kulas finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds for Cudahy. Senior guard/forward Bailey Eichner battled foul trouble but finished with 13 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
Those two have been the Packers’ top players all season.
Friday they also received critical help from players such as sophomore Camryn Kratt, the primary defender on Hortonville’s Shae Frederick, who missed 12 of 15 shots but still managed to get a team-high 12 points. Nicole Ferch, a 5-foot-9 senior forward, gave up 5 inches to Polar Bears senior Morgan Allen before fouling out with about 8 minutes left.
The 36 points were a season low for Hortonville, which finished 20-6.
“They did a great job,” Polar Bears coach Celeste Ratka said. “They were ready for Shae and a lot of the screening actions and things we were trying to do. But I think a little bit of it was tightness. We missed quite a few layups that we normally put in and I think that got us even more tight.”
Hortonville did miss a number of shots from point-blank range, but Cudahy had to overcome intense pressure as well.
The Packers led, 2418, at the half after a lastsecond three-pointer by Kulas, but the first 9 minutes of the second half were anything but smooth. Hortonville’s traps and press forced five turnovers in the first 61⁄2 minutes
During that stretch Cudahy coach Bob Maronde had to sit Eichner after she picked up her fourth foul with 12:54 to play. She didn’t return until about 8 minutes remained, but the Packers managed to increase their lead, going from four to 32-26.
“When we had to take Bailey out for those 3 or 4 minutes, the rest of the team did a marvelous job of running the offense and taking care of business on the defensive end,” Maronde said.
On her first possession back, Eichner scored on a baseline drive to make it 34-29. From there the Packers slowly built their lead.
Kulas had a bucket and an assist on back-toback possessions to give Cudahy a 40-32 lead. Two possessions later the Packers beat the Hortonville press and Eichner found sophomore Kaytlin Sagan for a layup that made it 42-32 with 1:47 to play. The Packers led by as much as 12 before the final buzzer.
“Our execution, except for a brief period in the second half, was just flawless. I couldn’t be more pleased,” Maronde said.