Appleton East, Notre Dame, Assumption advance to girls basketball state title games
ASHWAUBENON – The Appleton East girls basketball team will play for the WIAA Division 1 state championship Saturday.
The Patriots held off Brookfield East 44-40 to win Friday’s semifinal game at the Resch Center. Appleton East will face Kettle Moraine for the D1 crown.
Emily La Chapell scored 20 points to lead the way for East (25-4).
Appleton East started fast led by La Chapell. The 5-foot-11 Marquette commit scored 12 of East’s 14 points as the Patriots led 14-4 in the first half.
Brookfield East (25-4) answered with a 12-2 run that tied up the game but a late flurry from the Patriots including a 3-pointer from Lindsey Gerard and a conventional 3-point play from Lily Hansford gave them a 24-21 halftime lead.
Appleton East is making its first appearance at the state tournament since 1998. The Patriots’ four losses this season were to Fox Valley Association champ Hortonville (twice), Neenah and Hopkins (Minn.), the third-ranked team in the nation in the latest USA TODAY high school rankings.
Brookfield East 21 19 - 40
Appleton East 24 20 - 44
Brookfield East: Doyle 2, Pluemer 10, Kelley 9, Platz 3, Alberts 8, McGath 8. 3-pt: Pluemer 2, Kelley 2, Platz, McGath. FT: 8-13. Fouls: 17.
Appleton East: Hansford 3, Beyer 9, La Chapell 20, Gerard 4, Lowry 6, Neubauer 2. 3-pt: Beyer, Gerard. FT: 14-22. Fouls: 12.
Kettle Moraine 66, De Pere 47
ASHWAUBENON – The De Pere girls basketball team had its season end Friday with a 66-47 loss to Kettle Moraine in a WIAA Division 1 state semifinal at the Resch Center.
The Lasers scored the first 13 points and led wire-to-wire, although the Redbirds got back to within three on two occasions in the first 18 minutes.
Kettle Moraine led 28-23 at halftime and scored 21 of the first 27 points of the second half to pull away.
De Pere senior guard and Butler recruit Jordan Meulemans had 20 points in the loss.
Kettle Moraine 28 38 - 66
De Pere 23 24 - 47
Kettle Moraine: Randgaard 17, Torres 15, Wallschlaeger 7, Siedenburg 11, Grocholski 12, Alvarez 4. 3-pt: Randgaard 3, Siedenburg 3, Torres 2. FT: 10-15. Fouls: 13.
De Pere: M. Ciesielczyk 9, Witteck 6, Bjorge 5, Bierowski 2, Meulemans 20, Wettstein 2, Hafeman 3. 3-pt: Meulemans 3, Hafeman. FT: 7-15. Fouls: 12.
Division 2
Notre Dame 64, Menomonie 45
The Green Bay Notre Dame girls basketball team will go for the repeat.
The Tritons beat Menomonie in a WIAA Division 2 state semifinal, inching a step closer to winning a second straight state title.
Hope Barington had 13 points in the win, while Gracie Grzesk and Trista Fayta each had 12 and Sydney Whitehouse 10.
Notre Dame will face Pewaukee in the championship game Saturday at 6:35 p.m. Pewaukee advanced with a 73-43 victory over Reedsburg.
Notre Dame 35 29 - 64
Menomonie 30 15 - 45
Notre Dame: H. Barington 13, Hardwick 6, Fayta 12, Whitehouse 10, Grzesk 12, Musial 9, Gokey 2. 3-pt: Grzesk, Musial. FT: 20-27. Fouls: 14.
Menomonie: Berg 12, S. Jacobsen 8, Quilling 6, Mommsen 8, Chen 3, Thornton 5, B. Jacobsen 3. 3-pt: Berg 4, B. Jacobsen. FT: 10-13. Fouls: 21.
Division 5
Assumption 36, McDonell Central Catholic 35
ASHWAUBENON – The Assumption girls basketball team is returning to the WIAA Division 5 state championship game.
The Royals (27-3) defeated McDonell Central Catholic in a state semifinal game Friday at the Resch Center and will play in the championship against Randolph at 11:05 a.m. Saturday. Randolph (30-0) advanced with a 47-25 win over Highland.
While the Royals struggled to finish at the rim early, a late 3-point barrage helped them overcome an initial 11-6 deficit to lead 24-17 at the break. Conversions by Sarah Shaw, Kayla Kerkman, Kendall Duellman and Izzy Jungwirth helped the Royals overcome the early shooting drought. Freshman Anna Schooley also tallied 10 first-half points to help build the lead.
Assumption expanded its lead to as much as 33-21 before a 14-1 run for McDonell Central Catholic briefly gave it a 35-34 lead with 1:08 remaining.
Maleia Kolo scored on a layup with 55 seconds remaining to put Assumption back in front. It was the only basket of the game for Kolo.
The Royals got the stop they needed in the final 30 seconds, advancing them to their second state title game appearance in as many seasons.
Schooley finished with 10 points and Shaw scored eight for Assumption.
McDonell Central Catholic 17 18 - 35
Assumption 24 12 - 36
McDonell Central Catholic: Hughes 10, Cooper 5, Deetz 8, Adams 6, Stelter 2, Dorn 4. 3-pt: Cooper. FT: 6-13. Fouls: 10.
Assumption: Sainz de Rozas 1, Jungwirth 3, Kerkman 7, Kolo 2, Shaw 8, Vollert 2, Duellman 3, Schooley 10. 3-pt: Shaw 2, Jungwirth, Kerkman, Duellman. Fouls: 10.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Saturday's sectional finals
Division 1
Neenah vs. Eau Claire Memorial at D.C. Everest, 1 p.m.
De Pere vs. Menomonee Falls at Hartford, 1 p.m.
Division 2
Medford vs. La Crosse Central at Eau Claire North, 3 p.m.
Ashwaubenon vs. Nicolet at West Bend East, 7 p.m.
Division 3
Brillion vs. Freedom at Two Rivers, 7 p.m.
Division 4
Iola-Scandinavia vs. Roncalli at Appleton East, 1 p.m.
Howards Grove vs. Milwaukee Academy of Science at Brown Deer, 7 p.m.
Division 5
Athens vs. Hurley at Chequamegon, 1:30 p.m.
Columbus Catholic vs. Gibraltar at Pulaski, 7 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Appleton East, Notre Dame, Assumption advance to state title games
