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Division 5 State Tournament Preview

Semifinals - Friday, March 25
Game 1 - Altoona (19-7) vs. Prairie du Chien (21-5) - 9:05 a.m.
Game 2 - Kewaunee (23-3) vs. Dominican (26-0) - Approx. 10:45 a.m. 

Championship Game - Saturday, March 26
Game-3:  Semifinal Winners - Approx. 2:25 p.m.

Division 3 Playoff Bracket

Team Previews:

Altoona Railroaders

Records: 19-7, 11-3 Cloverbelt West (2nd Place)
WSN/WBCA State Ranking: NR
Regionals: Def. Durand 47-38, Mondovi 62-38
Sectionals: Def. Neillsville 41-39, Ladysmith 31-29

State History: Third appearance

Notes: Altoona is making its second straight state tournament appearance and third in four years but still searching for its first win in Madison…Seniors Ariel Gillespie, Kayla Springer, and Bethany Reyzer all started on last year’s state tourney team…Spring and Reyzer lead the Rails in scoring with 10.7 and 10.3 points per game respectively…Altoona has no player 6-0 or taller on its roster…A tough non-conference schedule included games against quality larger opponents Chippewa Falls, Marshfield, River Falls, and Rice Lake…The Rails gave Neillsville its first defeat of the year in their sectional semi-final upset.

Official WIAA Roster with team info, school facts, and game results
Prairie du Chien Blackhawks

Records: 21-5, 7-3 Southwest Wisconsin Conference (3rd place)
WSN/WBCA State Ranking: No. 14
Regionals: Def. Platteville 48-21, Richland Center 34-31
Sectionals: Def. Westfield 40-26, Edgerton 47-34

State History: Second appearance, One title (1991)

Notes: Prairie du Chien improved from 13-11 last year to 21-5 this season under first-year coach Paula Shedivy, a longtime assistant in the boys program…The Blackhawks’ had lost to SWC foe Richland Center 27 straight times prior to their regional final match-up, but won it when freshman McKenzie Banasik hit a three-pointer late in the game…Senior Courtney Lewis and junior Morgan Banasik were first team All-SWC selections, with Banasik named the league’s Most Valuable Player…In addition to two losses in the regular season against Richland Center, Prairie du Chien also fell 49-37 to Division 4 state tournament participant Westby.

Official WIAA Roster with team info, school facts, and game results

Kewaunee Storm

Records: 23-3, 13-1 Packerland (1st Place, Co-champ with Algoma)
WSN/WBCA State Ranking: #10
Regionals: Def. Southern Door 44-26, Mishicot 45-40
Sectionals: Def. Brillion 40-33, Freedom 47-44

State History: First appearance

Notes: Two of Kewaunee’s three losses this year came to state tournament teams:  Luxemburg-Casco (D2) and Algoma (D4)…There are no seniors on the roster…This is the first year for the team to be known as the Storm, after the nickname was changed from the Indians last fall…Kewaunee finished fourth in Division 3 in scoring defense this year, giving up an average of just 33.6 points per game…Kewaunee has improved its conference and overall win total every year since 2005-06.

Official WIAA Roster with team info, school facts, and game results

Dominican Knights

Records: 26-0, 16-0 Midwest Classic-South (1st Place)
WSN/WBCA State Ranking:  No.1
Regionals: Def. University School 72-39, Milwaukee School of Languages 76-55
Sectionals: Def. East Troy 68-58, Winnebago Lutheran 47-40

State History:  First appearance

Notes: Dominican has won back to back Midwest Classic-South Conference titles (sharing it last year with Shoreland Lutheran) after finishing last in the league in 2008-09…Juniors Dilonna Johnson (16.19 ppg) and Deysha Smith-Jenkins (15.6 ppg) both rank in the top 25 in scoring in Division 2…Johnson shoots 39% from behind the three-point line and has made 60 triples this year…Smith-Jenkins averages an astounding 5.1 steals per game (to go with 7.8 rebounds as well)…As a team, the Knights average 17 steals per game…Fifth-leading scorer Elle Topp is the only senior on the roster…Dominican defeated five Division 1 or 2 schools this year, including D2 state tourney participant Whitefish Bay (44-33).

Official WIAA Roster with team info, school facts, and game results