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Division 1 State Preview

Schedule:

Super Tuesday - Tuesday, March 22
At UW-Stevens Point - Eau Claire North (23-2) vs. Appleton East (15-9) - 7 p.m.
At UW-Oshkosh - De Pere (22-3) vs. Nicolet (23-2) - 7 p.m.
At Wisconsin Lutheran College - Pius XI (24-1) vs. Racine Case (22-2) - 7 p.m.
At UW-Whitewater - Middleton (24-1) vs. Franklin (17-8) - 7 p.m.

State Semifinals - Friday, March 25
Game 1 - UW-Stevens Point winner vs. UW-Oshkosh winner - 6:35 p.m.
Game 2 - Wisconsin Lutehran College winner vs. UW-Whitewater winner - Approx. 8:15 p.m.

Championship - Saturday, March 26
Game 3 - Semifinal winners - Approx. 8:15 p.m.

Division 1 Playoff Bracket
Team Previews:

Eau Claire North Huskies

Records: 23-2, 12-0 Big Rivers (1st Place)
WSN/WBCA Ranking: No. 7
Regionals: Def. Wausau West 52-46
Sectionals: Def. La Crosse Central 43-40, Superior 53-31

State History: One previous appearance

Notes: Eau Claire North won its sixth Big Rivers title in the past eight years by amassing a perfect 12-0 league mark... North's lone two losses of the season came to Marshfield and Woodbury, Minnesota in consecutive mid-December matchups... The Huskies are riding a 19-game win streak into its Super Tuesday game... North ranks fifth in Division 1 with a .642 RPI... Three players score in double figures for the Huskies-- junior Kayla Hagedorn leads the team with 12.7 points per game while senior Kaley Bernhardt and Alicia Olson add 11.9 and 10 respectively. Sophomore Kayonna Lee leads the team with just over six rebounds per game... North may have one of the deepest benches as head coach Michelle Peplinski has played 11 players in at least 22 games this season.

Official WIAA team page

Appleton East Patriots

Records: 16-9, 10-8 Fox Valley Association (Tied for 5th Place)
WSN/WBCA Ranking: NR
Regionals: Def. Stevens Point 50-48
Sectionals: Def. Appleton North 46-38, Oshkosh West 38-36 (4OT)

State History: Two previous appearances

Notes: Appleton East claims the lowest winning percentage of all 24 teams reamining in the tournament at .640... East was swept by Kimberly, Appleton North and Fond du Lac in FVA play and dropped a decision to Brookfield Central out of league play... East beat both FVA co-champions en route to a Super Tuesday berth... East scores just 42.2 points per game, 12 fewer than any other Division 1 team left in the tournament... Junior Marissa Michalkiewicz leads East in scoring with 14.2 points and 8.6 rebounds per game and classmate Malory Christenson adds 8.2 points and leads the team in assists.
Official WIAA team page

De Pere Redbirds

Records: 22-3, 14-2 Fox River Classic (2nd Place)
WSN/WBCA Ranking: No. 9
Regionals: Def. Sheboygan south 55-25
Sectionals: Def. Kimberly 40-25, Green Bay Preble 56-42

State History: Six previous appearances, two titles (1983, 2005)

Notes: De Pere reached the state quarterfinal round for the third straight year after earning the silver ball last season... De Pere knocked off league champion Pulaski in the teams' only meeting, but lost to Notre Dame and Sheboygan North to finish in second place in the FRCC. The only other loss was non-conferece to Division 4 state semifinalist Algoma... De Pere ranks eighth in D1 RPI with .623... Junior Alayna Cotter leads the Redbirds with 11.4 points per game while senior Jillian Ritchie adds 10 points and a team-high 4.7 rebounds per contest... All 12 players on De Pere's regular season roster played in at least 15 games this season.

Official WIAA team page

Nicolet Knights

Records: 23-2, 14-0 North Shore (1st Place)
WSN/WBCA Ranking: No. 2
Regionals: Def. Germantown 66-25
Sectionals: Def. Hamilton 47-30, Arrowhead 55-22

State History: Three previous appearances

Notes: Nicolet won its third straight North Shore Conference title and second outright, going a perfect 14-0 in league play... Nicolet is one of just two teams to be ranked No. 1 in Divison 1 this year, but entered the playoff as the No. 2 ranked team according to the WSN/WBCA coaches poll... Nicolet's two losses this season came to Pius XI and Montini Catholic out of Chicago... Nicolet ranks third in RPI (.646) fifth in offensive production (62.8 ppg) and eighth in points-against (36.3 ppg) in Division 1... Nicolet boasts four players in double-figure scoring, led by senior Ashley Green's 17.6 points per contest. Alex Cohen and Brittney Fair each add just over 12 points, while Gaby Bronson adds just over 10. Cohen and Green also add 7.3 and 6.7 rebounds per game, while Fair dishes out over four assists per game as well.

Official WIAA team page

Pius XI Popes

Records: 24-1, 13-1 Classic Eight (1st Place)
WSN/WBCA Ranking: No. 1
Regionals: Def. Milwaukee Madison/Northwest 66-40
Sectionals: Def. Brookfield Central 43-30, Milwaukee Vincent 59-35

State History: Two previous appearances, one title (2010)

Notes: Pius was one of two schools who opted to play up to Division 1 with the new five division plan--the other was Nicolet... Pius, last year's Division 1 state champ, won its second straight Classic Eight Conference title and lost just one game all season, coming to Arrowhead league play... Head coach Scott Herrick won his 200th career win this season... Pius ranks in the top 12 in Division 1 scoring and defense, as well as second in RPI with .654 behind only Milwuakee Vincent... Two players average double-figure points for the Lady Popes, led by Terri Bender's 11.5 and Nikki Nellen's 10.1 points per game average... Seven players have played in at least 21 of the team's regular season games.

Official WIAA team page
Racine Case Eagles

Records: 22-2, 14-0 Southeast (1st Place)
WSN/WBCA Ranking: No. 5
Regionals: Def. Racine Park 71-35
Sectionals: Def. Milwaukee Bradley Tech 84-54, Oak Creek 46-35

State History: One previous appearance

Notes: Racine Case is making its second straight state quarterfinal appearance and second in school history... Case's losses this season came to Milwaukee Vincent in the season debut and an early January clash with Chicago's Whitney Young... Case is the highest scoring team in Division 1, averaging 69.4 points per game, and ranks fourth in D1 with a .644 RPI... Junior Jameeka Bouie and senior Iowa recruit Sam Logic lead the team with 17 and 14.2 points per game, respectively. Logic also leads the team with 8.8 rebounds, 7.2 asssits and 3.3 steals per game... Eleven players on the roster played in all 21 of Case's regular season games, nine of which have also started in at least six games.

Official WIAA team page
Middleton Cardinals

Records: 24-1, 18-0 Big Eight (1st Place)
WSN/WBCA Ranking: No. 3
Regionals: Def. Madison Memorial 79-30
Sectionals: Def. Madison East 76-66, Verona 61-39

State History: Six previous appearances

Notes: Middleton has earned a state quarterfinal berth the past three seasons, but hasn't reached the title game since 2003... The Cardinals were undefeated Big Eight Conference champs for the fifth straight season, but won it outright for the first time since the league expanded to 10 teams... Middleton lost its season opener against Morgan Park, Illinois, and since has won 24 straight games... Middleton ranks second in Division 1 scoring with 66 points per game, and sixth with an RPI of .631... Seniors Kerry Gardner and Rachel Eklund each average double-digit scoring for Middleton with 12.6 and 11.4 points per game respectively. Ecklund also adds 7.6 rebounds per contest. Head coach Jeff Kind has used the same starting lineup in 23 of Middleton's 25 games this season.

Official WIAA team page

Franklin Sabers

Records: 17-8, 8-6 Southeast (4th Place)
WSN/WBCA Ranking: NR
Regionals: Def. Badger 52-36
Sectionals: Def. Muskego 62-50, Janesville Craig 50-34

State Hisory: Three previous appearances

Notes: Franklin's last state quarterfinal appearance came in 2007... The Sabers' six conference losses came to Oak Creek, Muskego and league champ and fellow D1 quarterfinalist Racine Case, while they also dropped games to Arrowhead and Pius XI... Franklin is the ninth-highest scoring team in Division 1 with 57 points per game... Franklin's four leading scorers are all seniors, led by Cassidy Mihalko and Mariah Hill's 11.6 and 11.2 points per game average... Taylor Atkinson has battled early-season injuries but is near full-strength... Thirteen players have played in at least 16 games for Franklin this season.

Official WIAA team page