This story is sponsored by: Wisconsin Homes of Marshfield
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MARSHFIELD – The Marshfield Columbus Catholic girls basketball team put on a defensive clinic in its WIAA playoff opener on Tuesday night.
The Dons used a full-court trap, doubling the ball handler at every opportunity, and smothered Northland Lutheran under the basket from the opening tip to the final buzzer as they rolled to a 59-16 victory in a WIAA Division 5 regional quarterfinal at Columbus Catholic High School.
Columbus Catholic led 11-9 after a back-and-forth opening five minutes before turning up the juice leaving the Wildcats in their dust.
After pulling to within two on a basket by Josslin Adams with 12:24 to go in the first half, Northland Lutheran did not make another shot from the field until there was 10 seconds left in the game – a span of just more than 30 minutes of game time.
“We talked a ton about getting after them pressure-wise,” first-year Columbus Catholic head coach Eric Wilson said. “Early, we were a little tentative with that pressure, but once we decided to go after people, that changed. When our girls decided to do that, that was a big deal for us.”
Back-to-back baskets by Sophie Wilczek sparked a 17-0 run that pushed the Dons’ lead from two to 19.
Northland Lutheran managed to make three of four free throws in the final 3½ minutes of the first half, but Columbus countered with six points of its own, the final two on a lay-in by Katelyn Casperson, and the Dons led 34-12 at halftime.
The Wildcats (10-13) sealed their fate with 13 turnovers on their first 18 possessions of the second half.
Columbus Catholic put it away with another 17-0 run, six from Courtney Sommer, while holding Northland Lutheran without a made basket until it finally made a 3-pointer in the closing seconds.
Sophie Wilczek and Gracie Wilczek both finished with 10 points, Hailey Hargraves had nine and Sommer eight for the sixth-seeded Dons (11-14).
Columbus Catholic now moves on to a D-5 regional semifinal at No. 3 seed Greenwood (17-7) on Friday. Greenwood won both Cloverbelt Conference East Division matchups during the regular season against the Dons, by seven and three points.
“We definitely have to shoot the ball better, that’s something we haven’t done well against them,” Wilson said of the matchup with Greenwood. “I think we’ve battled. They are physical, so we have to match that physicality and be willing to shoot the ball against that.”
Click here to see the statewide regional scoreboard and schedule
Dons 59, Wildcats 16
Northland Lutheran 12 4 – 16
Columbus Catholic 34 25 – 59
NORTHLAND LUTHERAN (16): Teagan Kunkel 0-2 0-2 0, Kenzie Rohland 1-4 0-0 2, Abby Ostrowski 0-6 0-0 0, Josslin Adams 1-9 0-0 2, Madi Ruehter 0-1 0-0 0, Riley Fairbanks 0-3 2-4 2, Paige Kunkel 2-3 1-2 6, Kiley Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Sadie Russ 1-5 0-0 3, Natalie Ostrowski 0-0 0-0 0, Alli Ruether 0-1 1-2 1, Rachel Schmidt 0-1 0-0 0. FG: 5-35. FT: 4-10. 3-pointers: 2-14 (P. Kunkel 1-2, Russ 1-5, Rohland 0-1, M. Ruether 0-1, Fairbanks 0-1, A. Ostrowski 0-4). Rebounds: 25 (Russ 6). Turnovers: 33. Fouls: 17. Fouled out: none. Record: 10-13.
COLUMBUS CATHOLIC (59): Chayse Blenker 1-4 5-7 7, Katelyn Casperson 1-6 1-2 3, Maggie Callaghan 0-6 3-4 3, Mattea Schlafke 3-5 0-0 6, Sophie Wilczek 4-9 0-2 10, Sam Casperson 1-5 1-3 3, Hailey Hargraves 4-5 0-0 9, Gracie Wilczek 4-6 1-1 10, Abigail Wojcik 0-2 0-0 0, Courtney Sommer 4-6 0-0 8, Jaylee Garneau 0-1 0-0 0. FG: 22-55. FT: 11-19. 3-pointers: 4-22 (S. Wilczek 2-5, Hargraves 1-2, G. Wilczek 1-3, Schlafke 0-1, Garneau 0-1, Wojcik 0-1, K. Casperson 0-3, Callaghan 0-3, S. Casperson 0-3). Turnovers: 20. Fouls: 14. Fouled out: none. Record: 11-14.