WIAA State Girls Basketball Preview: Division 5
Monday, March 9th, 2015 -- 10:32 AM
The 40th Annual Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Girls Basketball State Championships will take place this Thursday-Saturday at the Resch Center in Green Bay. Here's a preview of the Division 5 field....STATE TOURNAMENT ON THE AIR: The State Tournament will be televised live in our area on WAOW-TV channel 9 in Wausau, WXOW-TV channel 19 in La Crosse, and WQOW-TV channel 18 in Eau Claire.
Thursday, March 12
1:35 p.m. Barneveld (25-1) vs. Fall River (24-3)
3:15 p.m. South Shore (25-2) vs. Assumption (24-3)
ABOUT THE DIVISION 5 FIELD: Last year's champion Barneveld qualifies for the State Tournament for the third consecutive season and for the 10th time overall. The Golden Eagles have now won five State titles, capturing the crown in 1995, 1998, 1999, 2005 and again last season. In addition, they have runner-up finishes in 2007 and 2013. They are the champions in the Eastern Division of the Six Rivers Conference this season. The Golden Eagles beat Bangor 68-42 in the final of the Richland Center Sectional to earn the opportunity to defend their title. Assumption will make its third consecutive appearance in the State Tournament, having won the title in 2013 and finishing runner-up last year. It is the Royals' fourth journey to State overall. They finished runner-up in the South Division of the Marawood Conference behind Division 4 qualifier Marathon. Another attempt at the crown remains conceivable following a 68-48 win over Green Bay N.E.W. Lutheran in the final of the Oconto Falls Sectional. South Shore is making its fourth overall appearance and its second in the past three seasons. The Cardinals finished runner-up in 2004 and lost in the semifinals in 2002 and 2013. They defeated McDonell Central 59-55 in the final of the Spooner Sectional for their entry onto the State Tournament bracket. The Cardinals are the champions in the West Division of the Indianhead Conference. Fall River has qualified for the State Tournament for the first time. The Pirates celebrate their first berth in the tournament after taking down Sheboygan Christian 70-55 in the Kettle Moraine Sectional final. They are the champions of the Southern Division of the Trailways Conference this season.
THREE-POINT CHALLENGE: The WIAA will conduct its first 3-Point Challenge prior to Saturday's championship games. The event will begin at 9 a.m. at the Resch Center. A ticket for the Division 3, 4 and 5 championship games session is required for admittance into the event. The top two players per division were selected for the contest based on the best 3-point field goal percentage with a minimum of 75 attempts during the regular season. The contestants representing Division 1 are sophomore Caroline Busch from Brookfield Central and senior Katie Walz of Waukesha West. Representing Division 2 are seniors Sammy Kozlowski of New Berlin Eisenhower and Madison Blair of Waterford. The Division 3 participants are junior Kylie Moe of Brodhead and senior Riley Spear of Marshall. Division 4 will be represented by senior Jamie Spanbauer of Lourdes Academy and sophomore Emily Hafemann of Martin Luther; and the Division 5 contestants are freshman Amber Baehman of Tri-Country and senior Shelly Kneifl of Abbotsford. Visit the information on the WIAA website for more details.
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