WIAA State Girls Basketball Preview: Division 4
Tuesday, March 10th, 2015 -- 10:18 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 4 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 12th
6:35 pm Cuba City (26-0) vs. St. Mary's Springs (24-2)
8:15 pm Fall Creek (24-2) vs. Marathon (25-1)
ABOUT THE DIVISION 4 FIELD: Defending champion Cuba City returns to the Resch Center for the third straight season and is making its membership-leading 16th appearance in the State Tournament. The Cubans have won more State titles than any other program with 10, winning championships in 1977, 1980, 1990, 1991, 1993, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010 and again last year. They also have a runner-up finish in 2009. They won the Southwest Wisconsin Activities League title again this season and advanced to State through the Baraboo Sectional with a 70-44 win over Aquinas in the final. Fall Creek makes its 11th appearance in the State Tournament and its first since 2009. The Crickets had a great run of success in the 1980s and 90s, winning championships in 1985, 1987, 1988 and 1996 to go with runner-up finishes in 1986, 1990, 1994 and 1998. They tied with Regis for the championship in the Western Division of the Cloverbelt Conference this season and proceeded to win the Eau Claire Memorial Sectional with a 73-62 triumph over Cameron in the final. Marathon returns to State for the first time since a three-year run of appearances ended in 1998 with a Division 3 title. It is the Red Raiders' fifth appearance overall. Another notable result came with a runner-up finish in Class C in 1987. They defeated Algoma 48-32 in the final of the Antigo Sectional after placing first in the South Division of the Marawood Conference this season. St. Mary's Springs will be experiencing the State Tournament for the second time. The Ledgers made their first appearance last year, which resulted in a loss in the semifinals. They return to the semifinals after downing Dominican 55-34 in the Arrowhead Sectional final. They finished second in the Wisconsin Flyway Conference behind defending Division 3 champion Kettle Moraine Lutheran, which has qualified for the tournament in Division 3 again 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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