State Girls Basketball Preview: Division 4
Tuesday, March 7th, 2017 -- 10:26 AM
The 42nd Annual Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Girls Basketball State Tournament will take place Thursday-Saturday, March 9-11, at the Resch Center in Green Bay. Here's a preview of the Division 4 field.....Thursday, March 9
Division 4
Durand (23-3) vs. Howards Grove (25-1) - 6:35 p.m.
Shiocton (18-8) vs. Aquinas (26-0)*
*Note: Subsequent games of each session will begin approximately 15 minutes following the previous game.
ABOUT THE DIVISION 4 FIELD: Durand makes its 11th appearance at State and its first since 2009 when the Panthers finished runner-up. They have won two State championships, claiming back-to-back Class B titles in 1986-87. They also finished runner-up in 1996. The co-champions of the Dunn-St. Croix Conference defeated Cameron 69-67 in the final of the Chippewa Falls Sectional to punch their ticket to Green Bay. Howards Grove will experience State for the second time. The Tigers’ only other appearance came in 2012, which resulted in a loss in the semifinals. They edged Kenosha St. Joseph 52-50 in the Brown Deer Sectional final to gain a berth in the tournament field. The Tigers finished in the top spot in the Big East Conference standings this year. Two programs in the Division 4 bracket are first-time State Tournament qualifiers. Aquinas is undefeated this season and are the champions of the Mississippi Valley Conference. The Blugolds have advanced through the Baraboo Sectional with a 64-40 win over Darlington in the final. Prior to its membership in the WIAA, Aquinas won back-to-back WISAA Division 2 championships in 1996-97 and finished runner-up in Class A in 1985 and 1989. Shiocton advances to the semifinals through the Waupaca Sectional following a 61-36 victory over Wittenberg-Birnamwood in the final. The Chiefs completed the 2017 regular season in a third-place tie in the Central Wisconsin 8 Conference.
STATE TOURNAMENT ON THE AIR: The State Tournament will be televised live in our area on WAOW-TV in Wausau, WXOW-TV in La Crosse, and WQOW-TV in Eau Claire.
Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.