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WSN15: Girls Basketball Top Moments #5 -- Oak Creek wins thriller against previously unbeaten Kimberly

08/08/2018, 11:30am 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.

When Oak Creek and Kimberly met in a Division 1 state semifinal in 2014 the game was expected to go down to the wire since the teams played to a one-point game earlier in the season, which was won by Kimberly. 

Oak Creek would get the best of Kimberly this time around, earning a 46-40 overtime victory, handing the Papermakers their first loss of the season. 

The contest featured ups and downs for both teams; Oak Creek jumped out to a 15-4 early in the second quarter, Kimberly led by five with one minute left in the game, and the final 20 seconds of regulation were nothing short of exciting. 

Oak Creek held a 21-16 lead at halftime behind 9-for-17 shooting, including 3 of 8 from behind the arc. Kimberly, on the other hand, struggled shooting in the first half as they went 5 of 17 from the field and shot 5-for-10 from the free throw line. 

The Knights extended their lead to nine points after Tamya Sims made a pair of free throws with 6:52 left in the third quarter to give Oak Creek a 25-16 lead.

Kimberly answered back with an 11-2 run to end the third quarter, with nine of those points came off Oak Creek turnovers, and the game was tied at 27 after three. 

The fourth quarter featured five lead changes and four ties, but Kimberly seemed to grab the momentum when they went on a 6-0 run to take a 36-31 lead with one minute remaining. 

A three-pointer by Jenna Santi got Oak Creek back within two with 46 seconds remaining. On Kimberly's next possession, Jenna Smarzinski split a pair of three throws to give the Papermakers a 37-34 lead with 34 seconds left. The Knights again had an answer, Katie Finn was fouled on a three-pointer and made 2 of 3 free throws to get the Knights within one at 37-36 with 22.4 seconds remaining. 

After a missed jumper by Katie Finn, which would have given Oak Creek the lead, Frankie Wurtz grabbed the rebound with 4.8 seconds left. Wurtz was fouled and went to the free throw line with the Papermakers up one and missed the first attempt before making the second to give her team a two-point lead. 

With no timeouts, Oak Creek attempted a full court pass that was ruled to go out of bounds off Kimberly with 2.2 seconds left.

The Knights took the ball out of bounds under their own basket, and Santi found Stephanie Kostowicz wide open under the bucket for the tying score.

In overtime, Oak Creek got on the board first with a Tamya Sims layup, and did not trail the rest of the way. They closed the game out with four free throws in the final 10 seconds to claim the hard-fought 46-40 victory.

Katie Finn led Oak Creek with 16 points, while Sims added 10 for coach Steve Hluchnik and the Knights. Smarzinski paced the wa for coach Troy Cullen and Papermakers with 11 points, and she was joined in double figures by the 10 of Marley Chevalier.

The game featured numerous players that went on to play college basketball, including three at the Division I level: Stephanie Stephanie Kostowicz (UW-Milwaukee), Tamya Sims (IUPUI via Bradley) and Frankie Wurtz (UW-Green Bay). 

Video of the final 19.9 seconds of regulation can be found at the bottom of this article.

In the Division 1 state championship game the following night, Oak Creek cruised to a 73-52 win over Superior to capture the program's first state title. 

Kostowicz led the Knights with 19 points and 7 rebounds. Sims tallied 18 points and 3 blocks, and Finn contributed 15 points. 

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