Division 3:
Martin Luther meets its match in a 51-30 loss to Madison Edgewood.
ASHWAUBENON - Corey Scheel admitted that the bar has been set high.
The 2016-’17 Martin Luther Spartans won the school’s first conference title since 1996 then won their first sectional championship. Friday they won their 25th straight game and earned a berth in their first WIAA state championship game.
Saturday, however, they met their match.
Sparked by a stifling defensive performance, Madison Edgewood defeated Martin Luther, 5130, in the Division 3 state championship game at the Resch Center. The Crusaders held the Metro Classic champion to 27.5% shooting (11 for 40) and its final point total was 12 points below its previous season low.
For Martin Luther, it was a tough end to a year of many firsts.
“You’ve got some things that are really going to be hard to match for the future,” said Scheel, Martin Luther’s coach. “But the future is still bright for our program.”
Edgewood, which reached the state semifinals last year, finished 25-3. Senior Estella Moschkau, who was announced as the co-winner of the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Miss Basketball award earlier in the day, finished with 20 points on 7-for-14 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds. Senior guard Katie Meriggioli added 15 points on 6-for-12 shooting and a team-high eight boards. Caitlin Link, a junior guard, added 11 points.
Martin Luther finished 26-2. Senior guard Emily Hafemann and sophomore guard/forward Emma Kallas led the Spartans with seven points each. Senior guard Bailey Zazueta added six points and a team-high eight rebounds. Kallas also had six rebounds.
The Spartans were 1 for 15 from three-point range and allowed 50% shooting by Edgewood in the second half. What bothered Scheel more, though, was the team’s 17 turnovers, nine that occurred in the first half.
“Too many unforced turnovers in the first half is what I think doomed us,” Scheel said. “We started the bulk of the game well. I thought we had a good game plan. I give a lot of credit to Edgewood. I think they really ramped up their defensive intensity.”
Both teams struggled early, but Edgewood began to assume control late in the first half. The Crusaders closed the half with an 8-0 run that included six points from Moschkau. Her threepointer with 2 minutes 53 seconds left made it 19-11. Those were the last points of the half.
Martin Luther got a bucket from senior Brooke Blazei on its first possession of the second half but went scoreless its next five possessions. Edgewood, meanwhile, got a layup from Meriggioli, a turnaround jumper from Moschkau and a jumper in the corner from Link to make it a 26-13 lead with 15:13 to play.
During the postgame news conference, Scheel spoke of how Edgewood put pressure on the Martin Luther shooters rather than pack the lane as it usually does. Edgewood coach Lora Staveness, however, spoke of how her team protected the lane and progressively got better along the perimeter.
“At the end of the first half we started closing out better, which has been a problem for us,” she said. “Maybe they thought we were doing a better job of it, but they get us shots. We take that personally. We want to be really stingy.”
No matter the perspective, the result was the same. Martin Luther trailed as many as 22 points before the final buzzer.