WIAA GIRLS STATE BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
AT A GLANCE
What: The 43rd-annual WIAA girls basketball state tournament.
Where: Resch Center, Ashwaubenon. Tickets: $10 per session at the Resch Center, online at ticketstaronline.com for $12 per session.
Broadcast: All games will be shown live on WMLW (Channel 41), on the internet at wmlw.com or on mobile devices by downloading the WIAA’s Magic of March app.
Postgame: Postgame press conferences will be shown live on WIAA.TV.
2017 champions: Division 1 – Appleton North; Division 2 – Beaver Dam; Division 3 – Madison Edgewood; Division 4 – Howards Grove; Division 5 – Loyal.
THURSDAY Division 3 semifinals
(4) Wisconsin Dells (25-1) vs. (1) Marshall (25-1), 1:35 p.m.
(3) St. Thomas More (21-5) vs. (2) Amherst (25-1), 3:15 p.m.
Division 4 semifinals
(4) Crandon (22-2) vs. (1) La Crosse Aquinas (26-0), 6:35 p.m.
(3) Manitowoc Lutheran (21-4) vs. (2) Melrose-Mindoro (26-0), 8:15 p.m.
FRIDAY Division 5 semifinals
(4) Wausau Newman (21-6) vs. (1) Black Hawk (27-0), 9:05 a.m.
(3) Clayton (24-3) vs. (2) Bangor (24-3), 10:45 a.m.
Division 2 semifinals
(4) Hortonville (20-6) vs. (1) Beaver Dam (23-2), 1:35 p.m.
(3) New Berlin Eisenhower (23-3) vs. (2) Monroe (24-2), 3:15 p.m.
Division 1 semifinals
(4) Appleton North (22-4) vs. (1) Arrowhead (24-2), 6:35 p.m.
(3) Oak Creek (24-2) vs. (2) Mukwonago (24-2), 8:15 p.m.
SATURDAY FINALS Division 5, 11:05 a.m. Division 4, 12:45 p.m. Division 3, 2:30 p.m. Division 2, 6:35 p.m. Division 1, 8:15 p.m.
THREE-POINT SHOOTOUT
The three-point challenge will be held before the championship games at 9:30 a.m. Saturday. A ticket for the Division 3, 4, 5 championship session is needed for admittance to the event. The top two players in each division were selected based on the best three-point percentage of the season (minimum 75 attempts). The event can be viewed on WIAA.TV, a subscription service. Here is the field: Hannah Belanger, Grafton; Mackenzie Correll, Northwestern; Carley Elmhorst, Colby; Justice Filip, Madison East; Christine Fortune, Appleton West; Brooke Hopkins, Tri-County; Cara Miller, Prairie Farm; Lai-Janique PerryEllis, Milwaukee Washington; Lexi Schmidtknecht, Cochrane-Fountain City; Molly Schmitz, Gale-Ettrick-Trempeauleau.
FIVE THINGS TO WATCH Planted seeds:
This marks the first year the state tournament will be seeded. As the seeding of the Division 1 field showed, the process won’t always be clear-cut. The Division 4 bracket better exemplifies the benefit of seeding. Aquinas and Melrose-Mindoro are undefeated and considered the best teams in the state in both the Associated Press and wissports.net state coaches polls. Seeding the bracket prevents those kinds of match-ups in the semifinals.
Lightning strike: We’ve already touched on the balance of the Division 1 field. Still, it would be understandable if Appleton North was a bit salty about being the No. 4 seed. The Lightning is, after all, a defending state champion with four returning starters. North gets its chance to make its case against No. 1-seeded Arrowhead Friday night.
Top dogs: If there is one team to watch at state, it’s Beaver Dam. The defending Division 2 state champion is considered the state’s best team regardless of division and is still a somewhat young group. Wisconsin recruit Tara Stauffacher is a junior. So is Eastern Illinois recruit Paige Schumann. Just two of the team’s key players are seniors.
Classic scenario: The Classic 8 is one of the top leagues in the state. It hasn’t paid off much at state, though. The conference has won just two state titles, the last one coming in 2010 by Pius XI. This might not only be the league’s year to win it all, but we will have an all-Classic 8 final if the seeds play out. A third Arrowhead Mukwonago showdown is a delicious possibility.
Representing: During its six years of existence, the Metro Classic has proved its mettle in the postseason. Four times one of its teams reached state. For the past two years, a team from the league was the state runner-up. St. Thomas More can add to that legacy this week.