Monroe upset; Cuba City and Black Hawk play for title tomorrow

The WIAA girl’s basketball state semifinals for Division 1, 2 and 3, at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis, were filled with plenty of surprises.

As the thunderous roar of the crowd sounded their drums, the players sprinted the court with the opportunity to become a hero for their respective schools.

In the first session of the day, Division 3 Cuba City crushed Brillion 56-40 to remain undefeated, and Oostberg easily took care of Osseo-Fairchild 64-43. Cuba City won on the strength of turnovers. They forced 16 and scored 17 points on them. Oostberg shot 60 percent and Julie Raeder scored 27 points to overcome 17 turnovers.

The championship will be after the Division 4 final, and Oostberg will need to limit their turnovers. Cuba City has the balance and the defense to limit Raeder, and the turnovers will only make it easier. However, Raeder is the type of player who can lead a team to a title by herself. If she shoots as well as the semifinal, it could be a long day for Cuba City. These two teams met in the state semifinals last year, and Cuba City, the state runner-up last year, won 43-40. The difference in that game: Cuba City had 10 points off of 15 turnovers.

In the second session, Winneconne upset Monroe, the No. 1 team in the division, 31-30, and New Berlin Eisenhower survived with a 50-48 win over Altoona. Monroe had their worst game since their only other loss at Division 1 Verona. They shot 26 percent and were dominated in the paint. They outscored 15-4 down low, even with the Jamie Armstrong and Ashley Hermanson. New Berlin Eisenhower out rebounded Altoona 35-26, including a 15-9 advantage on the offensive glass.

The championship will be tomorrow after the Division 3 final. Winneconne will need to shoot better than the semifinal, because 26 percent won’t beat the Lady Lions. New Berlin Eisenhower runs a quick offense, and they rebound well. The game could be over in the first half. However, Winneconne’s defense did hold Monroe to only 30 points.

The Division 4 final will feature Black Hawk and Newman Catholic. Black Hawk will need to limit turnovers, or they will have no chance. Newman Catholic forced 23 turnovers and scored 30 points from them in their semifinal versus Weston. Black Hawk only shot 26 percent, but they scored 21 points from turnovers to survive the game. The final may be a defensive battle, but Black Hawk needs to make the shots they should.

The Division 1 game will pit Milwaukee Pius XI, who defeated Milwaukee Vincent 63-58, and De Pere, who won 53-36 over Wausau. Milwaukee Vincent were two-time defending champions.

NCAA recaps:

Tennessee upsets Ohio State 76-73, even though Evan Turner scored 31 points for the buckeyes. The difference: Tennessee had 18 offensive rebounds, and they also had more balance on the offensive side. Wayne Chism had 22 points to lead the three other double-digit scorers for the Volunteers.

In the other early game, Baylor easily beats Saint Mary’s (Calif) 72-49. The Gaels only hit six 3-pointers out of 22 attempts, and they were out rebounded 37-25. Baylor is a final four pick to some, including I Am Sportacus writer Josh Smith. They may make it there yet. The win was very impressive. With the loss, no double-digit seeds remain.

In the late games, Michigan won a slow, defensive Big Ten type of game over Northern Iowa 59-52. The Panthers played great defense, but the Spartans shot better in the end. Northern Iowa was 4-16 from the 3-point line, and Michigan State out rebounded them 31-18. Northern Iowa didn’t hit a field goal for the last six minutes. The No. 5 Spartans will face the No. 6 Volunteers on Sunday for a chance to make the Final Four.

In the last game, Robbie Hummel’s absence finally caught up with Purdue as Duke blew them out 70-57. They didn’t have enough weapons to compete with Kyle Singler, Jon Scheyer and Nolan Smith, who combined for 57 points. JaJaun Johnson did all he could with 23 points. Duke is the second No. 1 seed to advance to the Elite Eight, but a great Baylor team will test the Blue Devils.

Big Eight, senior core propels Verona to state tournament

The Verona Area High School boys’ basketball team is in the WIAA state tournament for the first time since they joined the loaded Big Eight Conference.

Verona went to the state tourney in 2006 and 2007, when they were part of the Badger South. After two years in the Big Eight, the team is back at the Kohl Center and coach Alan Buss attributes part of his team’s late season run to the stiff competition the Big Eight offers.

“Everybody believes their conference is very good, and rightfully so,” Buss said during a state media teleconference. “But I think in the Big Eight you get such a balance of great teams and great athletes that it really tests you and prepares you. And I think we saw that over the weekend. The two teams we played, Burlington and Kenosha Bradford, are very good. … I think playing in the Big Eight, 18 games, really prepared us for what we saw this weekend.”

The Wildcats (18-7 overall, 12-6 conference) finished tied for third in the Big Eight with Middleton. Madison Memorial and Madison East finished first and second respectively. Memorial is also in the state tournament.

Verona received a first round bye and beat Westosha Central, 54-42, to begin their tournament. Verona handled Burlington, 55-43, and topped Bradford, 56-49.

Buss credited solid free-throw shooting and quality all-around play from his group of players, which are led by a solid group of seniors. The coach said his squad got to the stripe 87 times during the playoffs compared to their opponents’ 39 trips.

“Our free-throw shooting has been outstanding and the number of times we’ve gotten to the line,” Buss said. “We shot 74 percent from the free-throw line during this tournament.

“We have four guys averaging double figures the last three games, so our balance has just been outstanding,” the coach added. “I think we played our best basketball these last three games in the tournament.”

The Wildcats will have to continue to play good basketball when they meet Arrowhead (22-3 overall, 12-2 Classic Eight) and 7-footer Ben Mills.

“I’ve seen [Mills] on tape. I haven’t seen him in person,” Buss said. “I think with us, it’s a matter of being physical with him and making sure we get a lot of help.”

The Verona coach said the team will rely on 6’7” forward Scott Christensen to defend Mills and the other four players on the court will need to help out also.

The Wildcats won’t be without experienced players to assist Christensen, as the starting lineup has been altered throughout the year. Buss said his team is realistically nine players deep.

“We had some things happen later in the year and Klayton [Brandt] went from being our back-up point guard to our starting guard and Kaden Nauman, who was our starting point guard became our two-guard because Matt Ropel tore his MCL and he’s out,” the coach explained. “We’ve had to make some changes down the stretch but it hasn’t seem to have affected our chemistry too much.”

Along with guards Brandt and Nauman, Sam Karls handles the wing while Adam Wadzinski and Christensen work down low as forwards. Every member of the starting five is seniors.

Senior Taylor Peterson backs up the forwards and junior Nate Ray subs at guard. Junior Danny Burns is a viable option at wing when Karls needs a breather, according to Buss.

The Wildcats’ coach said Karls accepted the role as leader with this year’s team, but the players have been determined all season after being “spectators” during the school’s last appearances at the state tournament.

“When we need a big player [Karls is] typically in the middle of it … I think he’s really relished that role and done a great job with that,” Buss said.

“They came into the season determined to give themselves the best chance to do [go to state],” he said. “It’s been a pretty special group of kids in terms of their resiliency and ability to bounce back from some tough losses. We’re a predominantly senior team, they take up a lot of the minutes, and they’ve really shown a lot of resiliency.”

The WIAA Division 1 State basketball tournament quarterfinals are today. Verona and Arrowhead are scheduled to tip-off approximately 25 minutes after the completion of the Milwaukee Hamilton and Marquette game, scheduled for 6:35 p.m.