Wisconsin High School Sports | Wisconsin Sports Network | WisSports.net

Nicolet 58, Middleton 54 (Box Score)

A frantic final 12 minutes was the difference in Nicolet’s quest for gold, as the Knights upended Middleton 58-54 in the Division 1 state championship game Saturday.

Some timely forced turnovers and a lock-down defensive effort allowed Nicolet to capture the lead at the 5:27 mark of the fourth quarter and senior Alex Cohen’s jumper at the 2:37 mark put the Knights ahead for good.

The 6-5 Cohen, who had a sizeable height advantage against Middleton’s defenders, was a solid force underneath for Nicolet and finished the game with 14 points, 12 rebounds and seven blocks. Fellow senior Ashley Green led the Knights with 17 points while junior Brittney Fair added 13, including a pair of free-throws to all but lock up the game.  

“We have not been down in a lot of games this season,” Wolf said. “We gave Middleton the opportunity to succeed. They’re too good a team for that and took advantage. When things don’t go so well, some kids hang their heads. But these kids didn’t.”

In true dramatic state final fashion, this one was quite the tale of two halves, as Middleton led by as many as 12 late in the second quarter. The Cardinals got whatever they wanted offensively as they exposed Nicolet’s defense, scoring layups while shooting 64 percent in the first half alone (16-for-25).

All-State senior Kerry Gardner had 14 points and three steals at the halftime break and took it right at the heart of Nicolet’s defense the entire first half.  

“They left the lanes pretty open,” Gardner said. “I was able to pull up in the middle get inside their defense pretty well.”

“Middleton is one of the best teams we’ve played—Gardner is tough and got the looks she wanted,” Nicolet coach Corey Wolf said. “We really had to get our focus back at halftime, especially on the defensive side of the floor. The first half they completely dictated the game.”

But once Middleton’s rim started to tighten late in the half, Nicolet busted the door wide open, going on a 21-8 run midway through the third quarter. A clutch baseline 3-pointer by Brittney Fair tied the game at 45 as Nicolet had sucked all the momentum out of Middleton’s sails.

Gardner led the Cardinals with 18 points, while senior Rachel Eklund and junior Mika Passini added 10 apiece. Middleton finished the game shooting 47 percent from the floor, cooling to just 6-for-22 in the second half.

The title was Nicolet’s first in its fourth trip to the state tournament, losing in three state semifinals in 1994, 1997 and 1998. Middleton takes home its third silver ball, won also in 1993 and 2003.