Assumption And Fall Creek To Play For Championships
Friday, March 13th, 2015 -- 6:36 AM
Division 5 Wisconsin Rapids Assumption, from the Marawood South and Division 4 Fall Creek, from the Cloverbelt West, will play for State Girls Basketball Championships in their respective divisions on Saturday in Green Bay.Assumption (26-2) used a tenacious defense to force 30 turnovers in a 57-43 win over South Shore (24-4).
The Royals used a 12-1 scoring run to put separation between them and the Cardinals in the first quarter. Assumption built a 35-16 halftime lead by scoring on many of South Shore's 18 first-half turnovers.
Assumption led by as many as 24 in the second half before the Cardinals battled back to pull within 10 points with just over four minutes to play in the game, but could get no closer.
Megan Gustafson did all she could the keep the Cardinals close, scoring 30 points to set a State Division 5 Tournament record for most points in a single game. She also pulled down 18 rebounds and blocked seven shots, which also set a Division 5 record.
The Royals' balanced offensive attack had three players score in double figures. Macie Zurfluh led the way with 15 points. Gena Grundhoffer added 14 and Macyn Krings chipped in with 11. Zurfluh also led the Royals with eight steals, which ties a State Division 5 record for a single game.
Defending champion Barneveld and Assumption will be meeting in the Division 5 title game of the State Girls Basketball Tournament on Saturday morning for the third consecutive year.
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Fall Creek (25-2) withstood a fourth quarter charge by Marathon (25-2) to advance to the Division 4 final with a 56-51 victory over the Red Raiders.
The Crickets led by eight points heading into the fourth quarter, but Marathon erased the lead and took a 42-41 lead at the 3:33 remaining in the game. However the Red Raiders missed golden opportunities when lay-ups failed to fall.
Tatum Mayenshein converted a free throw and a traditional three-point play to give the Crickets back the lead. She responded on the defensive end with a steal that resulted in a pair of free throws by Whitney Folkers . Fall Creek sealed the victory at the free throw line down the stretch.
Mayenshein led all scorers with 18 points for the Crickets. Olivia Burghardt and Shayna Hohlfelder scored in double figures with 13 and 10 points, respectively. The Crickets shot 53 percent for the game, including a 67 percent clip in the second half.
Olivia Meurette led a balanced attack for the Red Raiders with 13 points. Emily Kind and Natsha Hanke contributed 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Fall Creek makes its ninth appearance in the State Tournament final, having won four times.
They will take on defending Division 4 champion Cuba City on Saturday afternoon in the Division 4 State Championship. Cuba City has won the most titles of any girls basketball program with 10.
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