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Assumption built a 24-13 halftime lead then held off a furious Barneveld comeback in the second half to claim its first WIAA Division 5 state title.

The Royals' first half lead was buoyed by a 10 for 10 performance from the free throw line as a balanced scoring attack and strong defense gave them the early advantage. As you would expect from the state's second-winningest coach, Barneveld's Jim Myers got his team turned in the right direction at halftime.

Both teams got to the line consistently in the second half, but Barneveld capitalized better, making 13 of 18 after the break. That ability to get to the line covered up a poor shooting performance, as the Golden Eagles connected on just 4 of 17 field goals in the second half.

Still, they made plays when they needed to, and most importantly played suffocating defense. Assumption scored on a free throw with 6 seconds left in the third quarter to go up 31-24, but it was their last points until the 2:57 mark of the fourth. All told, their field goal drought lasted from 7:35 of the third quarter to 2:57 of the fourth.

Meanwhile,  Barneveld continued to chip away at the lead, eventually tying it at 31 with 3:13 left in the game. That's when Assumption freshman Gena Grundhoffer came through in a big way. She scored the team's next 6 points as Assumption pushed the lead to 38-34 with 20 seconds remaining.

Assumption took care of business the rest of the way to capture the title.

Grundhoffer finished with a team-best 10 points for Assumption, who also got 9 points from Mary Sigler before the junior guard fouled out mid-way through the fourth quarter. Barneveld's Rachel Slaney recorded a second straight double-double, finishing with 12 points and 10 rebounds.