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WSN15: Girls Basketball Top Moments #7 -- De Pere holds off late rally by Milwaukee King to capture 2012 state title

08/03/2018, 1:00pm CDT
By Norbert Durst

The WSN15 series will celebrate the 15th Anniversary of WisSports.net by looking back at the top players, teams, and moments of the past 15 years (2003-2017). 

We begin our WSN15 girls' basketball series with the Top 15 Moments of the WSN Era.

In the final game of the girls' basketball state tournament at the Kohl Center in Madison before moving to Green Bay, the De Pere Redbirds held off a late rally by Milwaukee King to capture the 2012 Division 1 state title, 60-57.

The two teams were neck-and-neck for most of the game until put-back opportunities and three-pointers put De Pere ahead, 55-45, with 3:49 left to play in the game. 

Milwaukee King responded with a 6-0 run to get within four at 55-51 with 1:03 remaining. The Generals cut the deficit to two twice in the final 42 seconds, but were unable to get any closer. 

De Pere went 5-for-6 from the free throw line in the final 31 seconds, but a miss by Alayna Cotter, who had made her previous three free throws in the final 15 seconds of the game, kept the door open for Milwaukee King and set up a thrilling three seconds to finish the game. 

Shakeela Fowler, a freshman at the time, got the inbounds pass and sprinted up the court and hoisted up a three-pointer that initially looked like it was going to go through the net before it spun out (video below).

The victory gave De Pere its third state title and 20th consecutive win of the season after starting the year with a 4-4 record. 

De Pere was led by Emma Konopasek who finished with 21 points and 9 rebounds, including 13 points in the first half. Morgan Anderson netted 13 points, and Kayla Dawson chipped in 9 points and added 6 rebounds and 5 assists for coach Kelly McNiff and the Redbirds. 

Milwaukee King got a game-high 22 points from Alexis Eckles, who also finished with 11 rebounds, 5 steals, 3 assists and 2 blocks. Avyanna Young contributed 13 points and 6 rebounds for coach Craig Machut and the Generals. 

Notable college performers from Milwaukee King: Avyanna Young started her career at UW-Milwaukee before finishing at Wisconsin, Alexis Eckles began her college career at Drake before transferring to Cleveland State, Shakeela Fowler played at Illinois State as a freshman before transferring to Trinity Valley Community College and is currently at Dayton, and Akaylah Hayes is heading into her senior year at UW-Milwaukee. 

Notable college performers from De Pere: Emma Konopasek played collegiately at NCAA Division II St. Cloud State, Morgan Anderson went on to play at NCAA Division II Michigan Tech, and Kayla Dawson played her college ball at NCAA Division II Grand Valley State. 

Video Courtesy of Rob Hernandez, formerly of the Wisconsin State Journal

Tag(s): News Archive  GBB News  Norbert Durst  WSN15