skip navigation

WSN15: Girls Basketball Top Moments #3 -- Assumption-Barneveld Rivalry

08/21/2018, 3:45pm 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.

The rivalry between Assumption and Barneveld that spanned from 2013-2016 is one of the best in state history. 

The two teams met for a historic four consecutive seasons in the Division 5 state championship game, and it was only fitting that the teams split in the title games. 

In each of the four seasons, the Royals and Golden Eagles also met in the regular season. After the first two years of the teams playing in the title game, the non-conference matchup became an almost inevitable preview of the state championship game. 

Since the state tournament wasn't seeded like it is today, it was probably looked at as a longshot that the brackets would align for them to be placed on opposite sides of the state tournament matchups in the four years. One factor that did help was that both of them moved sectionals after the first meeting in the state championship game and the last three years they remained in that given sectional. 

In the four years, Barneveld and Assumption split the eight games.

During the 2012-13 season, Assumption beat Barneveld, 44-41, in a regular season non-conference game in Barneveld on January 12. Assumption got a team-high 13 points from junior Mary Sigler and freshman Gena Grundhoffer contributed 11 points. Freshman Hannah Whitish finished with a game-high 15 points for Barneveld and sophomore Rachel Slaney tallied 10 points in the loss. 

In the 2013 Division 5 state championship game, Assumption edged Barneveld, 39-35, at the Resch Center in Green Bay. Grundhoffer tallied a team-high 10 points for Assumption. Five others scored for the Royals, including Sigler (9 points) and senior Hannah Skibba (7). In the loss, Slaney scored a game-high 12 points, while senior Madi Laube and Whitish finished with 8 and 7 points, respectively. 

Barneveld finish a perfect 28-0 during the 2013-14 season. The Golden Eagles defeated Assumpion on the road, 50-37, on December 28 in a regular season contest. Slaney netted a game-high 22 points for Barneveld and fellow junior Maggie Oimoen added 8. Grundhoffer scored a team-high 11 points for the Royals. 

In the 2014 Division 5 state championship game, Barneveld topped Assumption, 38-34. The Golden Eagles trailed 25-21 after three quarters before outscoring the Royals 17-9 in the fourth quarter to earn the victory and complete an undefeated season. Slaney and Whitish led the way in scoring for the Golden Eagles with 13 and 11 points, respectively. Sigler was the lone Royals' player to reach double figures, tallying 10 points. 

In the third year of the historic rivalry, Barneveld cruised to a 59-43 win over Assumption in the 2015 Division 5 state championship game. Whitish finished with a game-high 23 points for the Golden Eagles. Oimoen tallied 17 points and Slaney contributed 9 in the victory. Juniors Macie Zurfluh and Olivia Skibba each finished with 12 points to lead the Royals. 

The two teams played their non-conference contest at JustAgame Fieldhouse in Wisconsin Dells that season on February 7, 2015 and Assumption topped Barneveld, 52-51, which was the Golden Eagles' lone loss of the season. Grundhoffer netted 21 points to lead the Royals and Whitish led Barneveld with 21 points. 

Assumption won the final of the four consecutive meetings in the Division 5 state championship game. The Royals outscored the Golden Eagles 35-23 in the second half to earn the 62-45 win and 2016 D5 state title. Grundhoffer scored a team-high 20 points for the Royals and was later named the 2016 WisSports.net All-Tournament MVP. Olivia Skibba finished with 18 points and Zurfluh added 10 in the victory. Hannah Whitish netted a game-high 24 points for the Golden Eagles and Mia Whitish contributed 10 points. 

In the regular season meeting, Barneveld overcame a 12-point first-half deficit to defeat Assumption, 49-40, at JustAgame Fieldhouse on February 6, 2016. Hannah Whitish and Mia Whitish led the way for the Golden Eagles with 17 and 15 points, respectively. Grundhoffer and Zurfluh paced the Royals with 9 points each. 

In those four season, Barneveld went 110-4 with all four losses coming against Assumption, including two in the state championship game. Jim Myers, the all-time winningest girls coach in state history with 699 wins, coached the Golden Eagles in the first three matchups and Doug Pickarts coached them in the final matchup. Pickarts, who resigned following the 2017-18 season, has 452 career wins. 

Assumption posted a 104-12 record over the four years. Joe Birkhouser stepped down as the Royals head coach following the victory against Barneveld in the 2015-16 season with 364 career victories. 

Three players that competed in the rivalry went on to play Division I basketball. Barneveld's Rachel Slaney (Cleveland State) and Hannah Whitish (Nebraska), and Assumption's Gena Grundhoffer (Lehigh). Whitish and Grundhoffer were a part of all eight matchups. 

Whitish finished her high school career with 2,125 points (11th all-time) and Grundhoffer scored 1,809 points in her career. 

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