Blugolds cap perfect season

ASHWAUBENON – La Crosse Aquinas completed its mission.

A year ago, the Blugolds girls basketball team reached the state championship game and lost by one point to Howards Grove. This year there would be no stopping the Blugolds. Aquinas went through the season undefeated and unchallenged, winning every game by double digits. That didn’t change Saturday. Paced by a balanced attack offensively and a fast start on both ends of the floor, Aquinas defeated Melrose-Mindoro, 6852, in a match-up of undefeated teams in the WIAA Division 4 state championship game at the Resch Center.

Senior forwards Kyah Steiner (13 points, 14 rebounds) and Madessa Collins (13 points, 11 rebounds) had double-doubles. Senior guard Jessa Peterson also had 13 points. Sophomore guard Lexi Donarski added 11 points and seven assists.

Aquinas (28-0) led by 15 at the half and by as many as 25 for the game.

Junior forward Erika Simmons led Melrose-Mindoro (27-1) with 14 points and 11 rebounds. The Mustangs, however, never led after the first 61⁄2 minutes of the game. A 15-0 run gave Aquinas a 19-5 advantage with 5 minutes 24 seconds left in the first half and set the tone for the rest of the afternoon.

“All year long it’s been about our intensity defensively that kind of sets the tempo and I felt early on we did exactly that,” Aquinas coach Dave Donarski said. “We were able to pressure the basketball. We were able to turn them over, and I thought execution-wise on the offensive side of things, especially the middle of the first half, we kind of did what we wanted.

“It’s a big rivalry and a lot of stuff back and forth and I feel good about how we competed today.”