Beavers repeat as champions
ASHWAUBENON - Beaver Dam and New Berlin Eisenhower have become two of the brand names in Wisconsin girls high school basketball, so it wasn’t a surprise to see them meet for the Division 2 title Saturday night.
But it takes a special performance to get the best of the Golden Beavers, and though Eisenhower will leave the Resch Center feeling good about what it offered, it will also have to settle for hauling away the silver ball.
Beaver Dam repeated as state champion, taking a 51-41 decision in the Division 2 title game. The Beavers coaxed Ike into 14 first-half turnovers and 19 overall while giving the ball away only seven times, a reality that helped the Beavers overcome 30% shooting and a slight disadvantage in rebounding.
“I think it’s well known that Beaver Dam is one of the best teams in the state,” Eisenhower coach Gary Schmidt said. “Our defensive strategy was really good tonight; we held them in check. We know they’re capable of pulling off 70 or 80 points. We did some really good things.
"I know it was a game of turnovers. They only had 7, and we had 19, you give a team like that 12 more opportunities with the ball, that’s certainly the difference in the game.”
The Lions (24-4) fell to Beaver Dam (25-2) in the regular season, 61-48, but they lingered in the rematch almost to the bitter end, getting to within 43-37 with 1:53 to go. Eisenhower’s accomplishments included holding University of Wisconsin recruit Tara Stauffacher to 3 points on 1-of-11 shooting and getting some big offense from freshman Nikki Dienberg, who hit all four of her shots for 9 points.
But Beaver Dam’s multitude of weapons, including freshman sensation Maty Wilke (16 points, seven rebounds) was too much to overcome.
“I keep looking at their depth chart; we look all the way down to seventh grade now,” Schmidt said with a laugh. “We’re proud to be in the same category as Beaver Dam.”
The game served as a clash between the 2016 state champion – a team that also featured current Eisenhower contributors Julia Hintz, Hannah Plockelman and Katie Ludwig – and the 2017 champ.
Hintz was left scoreless in the first half and finished with 10 points, held in check by Beaver Dam sophomore Jada Donaldson.
“We wouldn’t be the team we are without Jada,” said Beaver Dam’s Paige Schumann (14 points). “She doesn’t get a lot of credit for that. Her defense is amazing.
“People don’t realize how good it is to have someone like Jada Donaldson who can play defense,” Beaver Dam coach Tim Chase added. “As a coach, it just does so much for what you can do with your team.”
Plockelman (team-best 15 points and 8 rebounds) was part of the interior effort that kept Beaver Dam from finding the bottom of the net, starting with misses on its first 8 shots of the game. The Beavers defense, however, kept them from falling behind.
“The pressure they were putting on us kind of baffled us a little bit, but then we finally got our composure a little bit," Plockelman said. "The turnovers did make a difference in the game. We just had too many of those.”
Schmidt felt his team was as prepared
as it could be for the Beavers’ pressure.
“The last four games, we played some really good teams with pressure,” he said. “Obviously, they escalated that tonight. They come at you at all angles and have a lot of players that are quick.
"Sometimes we got ourselves into situations we couldn’t get out of. I didn’t think it would hurt us as much as it did. Beaver Dam is so good at making runs, and it usually comes from that press. We just couldn’t get over the top of it. It’s a credit to their strengths and the things that they do.”