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The highly anticipated matchup between Aquinas and Beaver Dam on January 25 at JustAgame Fieldhouse in Wisconsin Dells was one of the top games to remember from the 2019-20 season. 

The contest featured Beaver Dam, the three-time defending Division 2 state champion, and Aquinas, the two-time defending Division 4 state champion. Both teams were also ranked No. 1 in their respective division. 

Aquinas jumped out to a 21-9 lead and went on to defeat Beaver Dam, ending the Golden Beavers' 87-game in-state winning streak. 

The Blugolds extended their in-state winning streak to 65 games in the 53-36 victory. 

Aquinas was led by senior Lexi Donarski, a 5-foot-10 point guard and Iowa State signee, finished with a game-high 23 points, and added seven rebounds, three assists, five steals and two blocks in the win. 

Fellow seniors Taylor Theusch, a Minnesota State signee, and Courtney Becker, a Drake signee, also played key roles in the victory. 

Theusch tallied 11 points and shot 3-for-9 from 3-point land, and Becker pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds. 

Freshman Macy Donarski added seven points for coach and father Dave Donarski and the Blugolds. 

Beaver Dam was led by junior standout Maty Wilke, a 5-foot-11 guard, who finished with 15 points, nine rebounds and three assists. 

Fellow junior Natalie Jens added eight points for the Golden Beavers. 

Beaver Dam struggled from the perimeter in the contest, going 3-for-27 from behind the arc. 

Aquinas on the other hand, went 6-for-20 from 3-point land and shot 20-for-47 from the field in the win. 

Beaver Dam was playing without head coach Tim Chase, who was in the first week of his medical leave of absence to battle colon cancer. 

In his absence the Golden Beavers were coached by assistants Dan Hallman and Allyson Wilke with Hallman serving as the lead coach.  

Chase returned as head coach of the Golden Beavers in their regular season finale against Reedsburg. 

Beaver Dam would finish the year with a 23-3 record. The Golden Beavers were set to play Pewaukee in a Division 2 state semifinal before the state tournament was canceled due to COVID-19. 

Aquinas ended the season with a 25-1 record. The Blugolds lone loss was against unbeaten Hopkins, Minn., the top-ranked team in the Class 4A Rankings in Minnesota.

The Blugolds defeated Crandon, 73-42, in a Division 4 state semifinal. They were set to play Melrose-Mindoro in the Division 4 state championship game for a third consecutive season before the tournament was canceled. 

Aquinas will enter the 2020-21 season with a 75-game in-state winning streak. 

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