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In a matchup of what many pegged as a state championship worthy game, Laconia closed out The Prairie School at the free throw line in the second half of the first Division 4 state semifinal matchup.

When the horn blew at half, the top-seeded Spartans held just a four point lead over the fourth-seeded Hawks. Laconia junior Tierney Madigan scored 14 of her team high 20 points in the first half including seven of the team's first ten.

Laconia pulled ahead 28-18 on a another Madigan layup with 4:43 left in the first half, but The Prairie School responded with an 11-5 run to end the half thanks in large part to senior Reese Jaramillo and junior Jasonya "JJ" Glass-Barnes. Jaramillo buried a pair of threes while Barnes finished the scoring for the Hawks with five straight to close the half. Both Barnes and Jaramillo were in double figures at the intermission.

The second half saw Laconia take control physically and pull away despite neither team making double digit field goals. The Spartans out-rebounded the Hawks 24-11 in the second half and despite making just eight shots from the field, pulled away at the charity stripe. Juniors Molly Duel and Madigan and freshman Finley Morgan combined to go 15 of 17 from the line. The team overall shot 16 of 21, a 76% clip, which is 16% better than their regular season average.

For the game, Laconia finished 20 of 28 from the free thrown line and 21 of 47 from the field. Despite losing the turnover battle 12-6, the Spartans used their physicality and depth to dominate. Laconia out-rebounded The Prairie School 47-25 overall and its bench outscored the Hawks 31-2.

Leading the way for The Prairie School was Division 1 recruit Barnes who finished with 20 points and nine rebounds. Senior Reese Jaramillo added 12 points while junior Meg Decker had 11.

Madigan's 20 points led Laconia, along with her 16 rebounds, but both Molly Duell and Finley Morgan finished in double figures off the bench with 18 and 13 points respectively.

Laconia will play in its third straight Division 4 State Championship, looking to repeat from last year's gold ball. 

Cuba City thwarted McDonell Central's chance at a second straight gold ball in a back and forth game Division 4 state semifinal matchup that the Cubans came out on top 48-45.

Neither the Cubans or the Macks led by more than five points in the first half of this hotly contested game and went into the break tied at 23. Both teams struggled to find the bottom of the net in the first half as the Macks shot 11 of 31 from the field and just one of eight from beyond the arc. The Cubans faired worse, making just 8 of 25 shots, but connected on three of twelve three-point shots and were a perfect four of four from the line. 

For the Cubans, junior lead guard Olivia Olson led the scoring attack with nine points while freshman Ella May Cooper led McDonell with eight.

The second half was more of the same with scoring coming at a premium, but the Cubans again took advantage of getting to the charity stripe making five of seven compared to just one make and attempt for the Macks.

This Macks held the lead for all but 20 seconds in the second half. The Cubans took a 36-35 lead with 7:15 left in the game on an Olson three but the Macks quickly responded by a three-point shot from senior Emily Cooper and quickly regained a 38-36 lead with 7:00 to go. The Macks held the lead until 1:24 left in the game when Olson tied the game at 45 with a jumper in the lane. Cuba City took the lead with four seconds left on a fast break layup from sophomore Ashley Rowe and held on for the win.

The Macks led for 25:49 as compared to just 4:16 for Cuba City, including just the twenty seconds in the second half. Cuba City was outscored by 16 points in the paint in the game but made three more three-point shots and went 9 of 11 from the line as opposed to McDonell's 1 of 3.

Leading the way for McDonell was freshman Ella May Cooper with 18 points, the only Mack in double figures. Senior Aubrey Dorn had eight points and twelve rebounds while fellow senior Emily Cooper added seven points, eight rebounds, and five assists.

Olson led the way for the Cubans scoring a game high 22 points on 7 of 15 shooting, including making 4 of 7 three point shots. Rowe finished in double figures with 11 points and added six rebounds and three steals.

Cuba City will play in its thirteenth state championship game in program history on Saturday, squaring off with defending champion Laconia.