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Division 5 State Tournament Preview

Schedule:

Semifinals - Thursday, March 24
Game 1 - Prentice (25-1) vs. River Ridge (19-7) - 1:35 p.m.
Game 2 - Newman Catholic (26-1) vs. Black Hawk (25-0) - Approx. 3:15 p.m.

Championship - Saturday, March 26
Game 3 - Semifinal Winners - 11:05 a.m.
Division 5 Playoff Bracket

Team Previews:

Prentice Buccaneers

Records: 26-1, 12-0 Marawood North (1st Place)
WSN/WBCA State Ranking: No. 4
Regionals: Def. Columbus Catholic 50-34, Spencer 56-42
Sectionals: Def. Turtle Lake 54-29, Siren 55-43

State History: Ninth appearance, Three titles (1981, 89, 92)

Notes: Prentice won its third straight undefeated Marawood North Conference title... Since a December 3 loss to Newman Catholic, its only loss of the season, Prentice has run off 24 straight victories that includes beating Newman in the Marawood Conference Crossover game in early March... Prentice ranks No. 4 in Division 5 offensive average (61.2), defensive average (30.4), and RPI (.621)... Senior Abbie Anderson leads the Bucs with 17.5 points, 10.4 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game while classmates Cassie Hallstrand and Hailey Niemi add 15 and 11 points per game respectively... Ten players have played in at least 17 games this season for Prentice.
Official WIAA team page

River Ridge Timberwolves

Records: 19-7, 10-2 Six Rivers West (1st Place, co-champ with Highland)
WSN/WBCA State Ranking: NR
Regionals: Def. Cassville 56-22, Shullsburg 45-28, Highland 55-41
Sectionals: Def. Seneca 44-40 (OT), Cashton 56-37

State History: First appearance

Notes: River Ridge was the #2-seed in the D5 Riverdale Regional, but upset two #1 seeds en route to its first state title berth... The Timberwolves won their second straight Six Rivers West title, splitting the conference crown with Highland after defeating the Cardinals in the season finale... Six of River Ridge's losses this season came to ranked teams... River Ridge has the fifth-higest RPI among Division 5 teams at .599, but is the lowest-scoring team in the D5 field with 46.5 points per game... Seniors Jessica Mergen and Megan White lead the Timberwolves with 10.9 and 10.4 points per game, while junior Traci Kirshbaum adds 9.4 per contest... River Ridge has no players listed taller than 5-9 on its official state roster.

Official WIAA team page

Newman Catholic Fighting Cardinals

Records: 26-1, 14-0 Marawood South (1st Place)
WSN/WBCA State Ranking: No. 1
Regionals: Def. Wis. Valley Lutheran 95-12, Assumption 46-25, Almond-Bancroft 63-29
Sectionals: Def. Wabeno 65-14, Saint Mary Central 79-21

State History: Eighth appearance, Two titles (2002, 10)

Notes: Newman won its second straight Marawood South Conference title with an undefeated 14-0 league record... Newman's only loss of the season came in the Marawood Crossover matchup against fellow state semifinalist Prentice... Head coach Tom Weinkauf tallied his 500th career victory this season... The defending Division 4 state champion Fighting Cardinals outscored postseason opponents by a whopping 49.4 points per game on average... Newman leads the Divsion and ranks third overall in scoring with 67.7 points per game and also boasts the highest RPI among D5 teams at .650... Newman has incredibly balanced scoring as seven players average over 5.7 points per game, led by senior and Green Bay recruit Taylor Thomas' 14.1 points per game average... Six seniors headline the Newman roster, all of which have played in at least 16 games this season.

Official WIAA team page

Black Hawk Warriors

Records: 26-0, 12-0 Six Rivers East (1st Place)
WSN/WBCA State Ranking: No. 2
Regionals: Def. Monticello 46-43, Barneveld 48-32
Sectionals: Def. Catholic Central 56-44, Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah 56-35

State History: Third appearance

Notes: Black Hawk was last year's Division 4 state runner-up, losing to Newman Catholic in the state title matchup last season... The Warriors are one of just two undefeated teams in the entire five-division field... Black Hawk beat fellow D5 state semifinalist River Ridge in the season debut... In six years at the helm, head coach Michael Flanagan has tallied an .870 win percentage with a 134-20 overall record... Black Hawk ranks No. 2 in Division 5 RPI at .631... Senior Rachel Rygh leads the Warriors with 14.8 points per game. Sisters Melissa and Jen Wellnitz add 11.2 and 8.8 points, while freshman Jen leads the team with 7.7 rebounds per game... All 10 players on Black Hawk's roster have played in at least 15 games this season.

Official WIAA team page