Three of the teams in the Division 5 state semifinals were first time participants in a Resch Center final four and the one with experience looked the most impressive. McDonnell Catholic from Chippewa Falls routed Albany making it’s debut 59-20 to begin the busiest day of the tournament. The Macks are in Green Bay for a third straight tournament and this time they’ve gotten to the title game. They did it by overwhelming the Comets who arrived with an undefeated record. McDonnell Catholic got a fast break layup four seconds into the game and never looked back, leading 35-11 by halftime and breaking the Division 5 record for victory margin (39) by the final horn. Albany was held to the fewest points in a D5 state game. Aubrey Dorn led the Macks with 16 points and 9 rebounds as they improved to 25-5 on the season. Abby Hollis topped Albany with 8 points as they shot just 16.7% for the game, making but 7 baskets in 42 attempts. Albany finished an outstanding season at 28-1.
The second semifinal was nearly identical to the first as Blair-Taylor, making it’s first ever appearance at state, rolled over Wabeno/Laona 55-26. The Wildcats led from wire to wire opening up a 31-12 advantage by intermission. The Rebels arrived for their first state trip as a co-op school as co-champs of the Northern Lakes conference but the big arena was a bit out of focus from long range as they went 0 for 19 on three point shots and nerves produced 24 turnovers to just 12 made hoops. Gracie and Malerie Krawze shared scoring honors with 6 points each as they finished the year 21-8. The Panthers meanwhile, improved to 28-1 thanks to Abby Thompson who finished with 18 points and Lindsay Steien adding 16.
McDonnell Central or Blair-Taylor will be bringing home the first WIAA gold ball in school history after the Division 5 championship game which tips off at 11:05 AM Saturday.
