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Lake Mills scores runaway victory over Aquinas in rematch to claim Division 3 title

02/27/2021, 11:30am CST
By Travis Wilson

It was another surprise and lengthy winning streak ended at the 2021 WIAA Girls Basketball State Tournament, as Lake Mills took control mid-way through the first half and scored a 78-67 victory over Aquinas in the Division 3 championship game. It was a reversal of a regular season game between the teams back in December that Aquinas won 75-60.

Aquinas, the Division 4 state champion in 2018 and 2019 to go with a runner-up finish in 2017 (plus an appearance in last year's championship game before the pandemic canceled things), held a 15-13 lead with 9:18 left in the first half, when the wheels came off, in large part to the poise and inside presence of Lake Mills. Taylor Roughen's three-pointer with 8:47 left put the L-Cats in front, and they would not trail the rest of the game.

Lake Mills pushed their first-half advantage to as many as 16 points before settling for a 15-point lead at the break, as Aquinas, who made 11 three-pointers in the semi-final earlier in the day, went ice cold from outside and struggled to create offense against Lake Mills' swarming, lengthy defense.

Lake Mills saw its lead cut to 10 early in the second half, but the L-Cats had an answer every time Aquinas made a run, and would push their advantage over 20 points on several occasions. Aquinas hit some shots in the final two minutes and managed to get it to single-digits, but Lake Mills was never really threatened in the second half and posted an impressive victory.

Vivian Guerrero led five Lake Mills players in double figures with 21 points, adding 13 rebounds. Kayla Will also had a double-double with 13 and 11, while Hannah Lamke, Taylor Roughen, and Julianna Wagner gave all five starting L-Cats players double-digits.

As they did in the morning, Macy Donarski (24 points, 7 assists) and Jacy Weisbrod (22 points) led the way for Aquinas, who saw its 37-game winning streak come to an end. On Thursday, Three Lakes ended Black Hawk's 75-game winning streak in a Division 5 semi-final.

This is the first girls basketball championship for Lake Mills, who first qualified for state last year, when they fell to Wrightstown. Aquinas takes home its second runner-up trophy (2017).


About the Author

Travis Wilson serves as the WisSports.net General Manager, Football Editor, and contributing writer for other parts of the site. Wilson was selected as part of the Sports 40 Under 40 list by Coach & AD Magazine and the National High School Athletic Coaches Association for 2019. The Wisconsin Football Coaches Association (WFCA) named Travis the 2015 recipient of the Dave McClain Distinguished Service Award. He currently serves on the WFCA Executive Board and is a member of the Executive Board of the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association. A graduate of Richland Center High School and Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Travis was a three-sport athlete in high school (football, baseball, basketball), inducted to the Richland Center High School Hall of Fame in 2023, and currently resides in Reedsburg. You can follow him on Twitter at @travisWSN.

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