Lady Wolverines take rubber match
By Chris Bennett
Sports Correspondent
Two games in the postseason, two wins for the Waterford High School girls basketball team. Magic might be in the works if such a pace continues.
The Wolverines routed Elkhorn 62-36 Feb. 27 at home in a WIAA Division 2 regional semifinal and beat Union Grove 40-31 Feb. 28 at home in the regional title game.
The victory against the Broncos gives the Waterford girls their first regional title since 2010. The Wolverines finished the regular season ranked ninth in the state in Division 2 in the WisSports.net Girls Basketball Coaches Poll.
The Wolverines (22-2) played Monona Grove (12-12) Thursday in a sectional semifinal game at Janesville Parker.
The winner plays Madison Edgewood (18-6) or Waunakee (12-12) Saturday at Janesville Craig in the sectional championship. Edgewood and Waunakee played Thursday in a sectional semifinal at Middleton.
The sectional champion earns a berth in the WIAA Division 2 Girls State Basketball Championships March 12-14 in Ashwaubenon at the Resch Center.
Waterford last advanced to the state tournament in 2006. The Wolverines lost 37-35 to Ashwaubenon in the Division 1 title game.
Waterford’s victory over the Broncos might best be termed a celebration of the fundamentals of basketball. The Wolverines won the game, played in a frenzied atmosphere in front of their home crowd and a motivated Grove visitors’ section, with defense and timely free-throw shooting.
“It could be described as a defensive battle, or just a lot of nerves from both teams,” Wolverines coach Dena Brechtl said. “Whichever team won that game was going to be extremely prepared for sectionals, as that was a sectional atmosphere. While we did struggle to score after the four-minute mark in the fourth quarter, we did not stop defending.”
Waterford outscored the Broncos 21-6 in the fourth quarter. The score stood at 25-19 at the end of the third. The Wolverines actually trailed by three points, 14-11, at halftime.
Brechtl said Waterford’s Jenna Bouffiou and Shauna Malchine limited Grove’s Sara Hartl to one field goal in the fourth, and Rylee Chart defended post player Janelle Schiffler “very well,” according to Brechtl. Schiffler finished with five points.
Offensively, Tiffany Stiewe finished seven for 10 at the foul line.
“Defense was the name of the game Saturday night, but I think the most impressive part was watching us break out with some big three’s by Madison (Blair) and Jenna, and followed up with some clutch free throws by Tiffany.”
Blair led Waterford with 15 points, despite first-half foul trouble. Bouffiou scored 10 points and Stiewe grabbed seven rebounds. As a team, the Wolverines compiled nine steals. Alyssa Kus led Union Grove with 10 points.
The Wolverines opened against Elkhorn (3-21) with a 22-9 first quarter and almost doubled-up the Elks at halftime with a 45-24 lead.
“We came out ready to play, and dominated from the beginning,” Brechtl said. “We had a handful of weapons on the floor, and our press and execution really hurt them.
“It was a well-rounded game for the entire team, as everyone that played went out there with confidence and played strong. It was a nice first round game.”
Stiewe led Waterford with 15 points and Blair scored 13. Abbie Kolacke led the Elks with 13.
-
-
-
-
-