Had the first real thriller of the WIAA Girls State Tournament at the Resch Center this morning in the second Division 5 semifinal.
Assumption held off a furious rally from McDonell Central Catholic to advance 36-35. The defending champion Royals led 33-21 in the second half but went scoreless for over 7 minutes. The Macs went one for their first 15 field goal attempts in the second half before they finally started falling. Marley Hughes had 10 and a put back basket from Amber Adams put Central Catholic in front 35-34 with 1:08 to play. But Assumption’s Maleia Kolo had an answer with a driving layup with :55 left and the Royals survived a few more misses to the horn. Anna Schooly led Assumption with 10 off the bench. McDonell Central Catholic finishes 25-4 while Assumption moves to 27-3.
Set to dethrone the Royals will be Randolph. They got off to a strong start and handled Highland 47-25. The Rockets built a 22-8 lead in the first half and stayed in control throughout. Maddie DeVries led the way with 13, Abby Katsma added 10. Highland, in it’s first ever appearance at state, was led by Katelyn Esser with 8. They finished 26-4. Randolph will take a 30-0 record into Saturday’s first title game at 11:05 AM.
