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Lourdes wins in OT after down by double-digits in first half

Early on it looked like Heather Bowe and defending-champion Regis were going to waltz back into the state finals for the second year in a row, but the three-headed monster of Oshkosh Lourdes, and their zone defense, had a better idea.  The Lady Knights overcame a 15-point deficit midway through the second quarter to win 70-63 in overtime.

The Ramblers (24-3), who defeated Algoma last year to win the D4 crown, built a 24-9 lead with 4:13 left in the second quarter, with Bowe scoring 10 of her 11 first half points in that time. The recently-named WSN Post Player of the Year, and Vanderbilt recruit, was automatic from the inside and from mid-range, which prompted Lourdes head coach Allison Fett to switch from man-to-man defense to the jumper-friendly 2-3 zone.

After the switch, the Lady Knights’ (26-1) limited Bowe’s effectiveness close to the rim and disrupted Regis’ entire offense, leading to missed three-pointers and less attacking the paint.  Through the first two quarters the Ramblers had 22 points in the paint, but were limited to just 4 in the third quarter.  During an almost 16 minute span from the middle of the second period to the halfway point of the third, Lourdes outscored Regis  41-17, with all but three of those points coming from sophomore Maddy Reed and seniors Lexy Petermann and Teenie Lichtfuss.

Oshkosh Lourdes, who was making its first appearance in the state tournament, seemed to put the game away with just over five minutes in regulation with a 50-41 lead and all the momentum in the Kohl Center.  But the Cloverbelt-West champions pulled back within one before Lichtfuss went to the free-throw line and pushed Lourdes’ lead to 54-51 with under a minute to play.  Senior Haley Collins pulled up for a three and nailed it to tie the game, but Hatti Bartlett answered back with a triple of her own to put the Knights back up my three.  With less than five seconds left on the clock, and the entire court to cover, senior Katie Stone found Bowe on the right-side of the basket and the Vanderbilt recruit sunk a three as the clock expired.

Overtime proved to be too many quarters for the top-seeded Ramblers though, as Lourdes built a quick 62-57 lead and never relinquished it.  Bowe finished with a game-high 32 points and added 9 rebounds, while Stone chipped  in 15 of her own and dished out 4 assists. Lourdes’ three stars combined for 49 points and 33 rebounds, with Petermann doing the most damage with 22 and 14, respectively

Lourdes will play the Neillsville on Saturday at approximately 12:45pm at the Kohl Center.

Box Score

Neillsville uses strong fourth quarter to drop Howards Grove

The Neillsville Warriors (27-0) dominated the paint Thursday night in a semi-finals matchup with the Tigers of Howards Grove.  The top-seeded and undefeated team from the Cloverbelt-East Conference held a 32-10 advantage down low to advance to the state finals Saturday against Oshkosh Lourdes.

Sophomores Katelyn Crothers and Jenny Lindner and junior Alleah Voigt led the charge in the paint, totaling 37 combined points and drawing 19 fouls.   Though the teams kept it close in the first three quarters, the Warriors used a 20-point fourth quarter to hand the Tigers (21-2) their second loss of the season, 53-41.

Neillsville defense was in full effect in the first half, limiting Howards Grove to shooting 31.8% from the field and 3-of-8 from the three-point line.  With that said, the Warriors were just 9-of-21 overall and only made 1 free throw, knotting the game at 19 apiece at the half.  The Tiger’s Alexis Lindstrom led all scorers after two quarters with eight points while going 2-of-5 from the three-point line; she finished with 13.

Both teams came out strong after the break, but the Warriors, who haven’t lost a regular season game since February 2010, built a 5-point lead halfway through the third, and pushed the score to 30-23 with just under two minutes left in the quarter.  But the Tigers, like they did earlier in the game, came clawing back within two before going into the final quarter down 29-33.

In the fourth Lindner scored 6 of her game-high 14 points (tied, Crothers) with two layups and two free throws.  The Warriors outscored Howards Grove 20-12 in the final period, with the Tigers getting zero points from their bench and having to commit five fouls in the last 1:36.

Box Score

The WIAA announced the Division 4 semi-final session attendance as 3,495 not counting suite sales.