WIAA State Girls Basketball Preview: Division 3
Wednesday, March 11th, 2015 -- 6:21 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 3 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.
Friday, March 13
9:05 a.m. Whitewater (26-0) vs. Kettle Moraine Lutheran (20-6)
10:35 a.m. Hayward (24-2) vs. Xavier (23-4)
ABOUT THE DIVISION 3 FIELD: Defending champion Kettle Moraine Lutheran returns to the field attempting to win back-to-back titles after winning the championship in their first State appearance last season. The Chargers beat Waupun 53-42 in the West Allis Central Sectional final to earn a return to the tournament field. They are the champions of the Wisconsin Flyway Conference this season. Prior to joining the WIAA, the Chargers won a WISAA Class B championship in 1990 and finished runner-up on four other occasions. Hayward is making its second appearance in the State Tournament. The first came in 1989, which resulted in a loss in the Class B semifinals. The Hurricanes are the champions of the Heart O' North Conference this season, and they emerged as representatives from the Chippewa Falls Sectional by edging Durand 43-42 in the final. Whitewater is making its inaugural appearance in the State Tournament. The Whippets punched their ticket to the final field of four with a 57-54 victory over Dodgeville in the Middleton Sectional final. They finished undefeated in the North Division of the Rock Valley Conference to capture the league title this season. Xavier will also be playing in the State Tournament for the first time following its 53-47 win over Valders in the Green Bay Preble Sectional final. The Hawks are runners-up in the Eastern Valley Conference this season. They won a title as a former member of WISAA in 1978 and was runner-up an additional nine times.
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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