The WIAA girls basketball tournament has commenced and is onto sectionals.
There are four Oshkosh, Fond du Lac area teams still playing basketball and two wins away from making it to the state tournament.
Here’s a look at who those teams are, how they got to sectionals and their path to state.
Division 3
Winneconne
As the No. 2 seed in the Division 3, Sectional 3A, Winneconne had a first-round bye. It defeated No. 7 seed Wrightstown 82-37 in the regional semifinal game. Grace Mitchell led the way with 23 points, followed by Harper Neace who had 18 and Jada Kaiser added 11.
In the regional final, Winneconne defeated Oconto Falls 69-33. Neace lead all scorers with 20 points, Mitchell scored 16 and Ari Reetz had 12.
In the sectional semifinals, Winneconne will play at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 5 at Waupaca High School against No. 4 Brillion. With a win, Winneconne would move on to play the winner of No.1 Oostburg vs. No. 2 Laconia. The sectional championship will be played at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 7 at Chilton High School.
Laconia
Laconia is the No. 2 seed in the Division 3, Sectional 3B. It had a bye in the first round before a 56-40 win over No. 7 Waupun in the regional semifinals. Laconia moved on and beat No. 3 Kiel 59-45 in the regional championship. At the time this was written there were no stats available from those games.
In the sectional semifinals, Laconia faces its toughest test yet as it will play No. 1 seed Oostburg who holds a 26-0 record. If Laconia is able to hand Oostburg its first loss of the season it will play the winner of No. 3 Winneconne vs. No. 4 Brillion at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 7 at Chilton High School.
Division 4
Lomira
Lomira is making its first appearance in sectionals since 2011-12. To get there, the No. 3 seed in the Division 4, Sectional 4A had a first-round bye before a 54-37 win over Winnebago Lutheran and a 60-46 win over No. 2 Howards Grove. In the win over Winnebago Lutheran, Josie Christian scored 20 points and Lily Christian added 16 more. At the time this was written there were no stats available from the game against Howards Grove.
Lomira will play No. 1 seed Kohler in the sectional semifinals. The game is at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 5 at Chilton High School. With a win Lomira would face the winner of No. 1 Dominican vs. No. 2 Kenosha St. Joseph Catholic. The sectional championship is at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 7 at Germantown High School.
Division 5
Lourdes Academy
Lourdes Academy is coming off of a state tournament run with essentially a brand-new team and finds itself two wins away from a trip back to Green Bay. To make sectionals, Lourdes Academy, the No. 3 seed in Division 5, Sectional 4A started with an 88-19 win over Gibraltar. Aubrey Schettle scored a game-high 20 points, Sarah Hafemeister had 16 points, Kyle Rietz had 11 and Adhieu Liabwill added 10.
In the regional semifinals, Lourdes Academy beat Princeton/Green Lake 79-55. Shettle led with 21 points, Hafemeister had 15 and Ellie Koch added 12. Lourdes Academy faced. No. 2 seed Valley Christian in the regional final and won 48-41. Fresgman Naomi Liabwill led a second-half comeback with 21 points.
Lourdes Academy will face No. 1 Sheboygan Lutheran at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 5 at Central Wisconsin Christian. With a win, Lourdes Academy would face the winner of No. 2 Fall River vs. No. 4 Madison Country Day. The sectional championship will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 7 at Whitefish Bay High School.
Contact or send game stats/info to Ben Schultz at BSchultz@usatodayco.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @benschultz52.
This article originally appeared on Oshkosh Northwestern: Four Oshkosh, Fond du Lac girls basketball teams are 2 wins from state
Reporting by Ben Schultz, Oshkosh Northwestern / Oshkosh Northwestern
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
