This story is sponsored by: Valley Communities Credit Union
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MARSHFIELD – The Marshfield girls basketball team put up 17 wins during the regular season, but the Tigers have still been a work in a progress.
The school’s all-time leading scorer, senior Taylor Varsho, fellow senior Leah Ripp and junior Tiffany Stargardt have been flanked by a group of freshmen and sophomores that have shown their age at times, but their talent as well.
Many of those underclassmen were playing in their first WIAA playoff game on Friday night, and it was their talent that came through.
Freshman point guard Caitlin Michaelis made five 3-pointers and scored a game-high 19 points, and sophomore guard Darian Molter scored all nine of her points in a pivotal 13-6 run that busted open the game and propelled Marshfield to a 60-32 win over Eau Claire Memorial in a WIAA Division 1 regional semifinal at the Marshfield High School Fieldhouse.
Marshfield (18-5) will host Superior (16-6) in a Division 1 regional at 8 p.m. Saturday at Marshfield High School.
“That’s the best we’ve played,” Marshfield coach Heidi Michaelis said. “The kids came in last Friday ready to go. They knew we hadn’t finished the season well and that’s not what they wanted to be remembered for. They put the preparation in and they came out tonight and executed it.
“When we take care of the ball, we have good parts that can do good things and give us opportunities.”
Michaelis hit a pair of 3-pointers and Varsho, who finished with 15 points, added another to help Marshfield push out to a 15-12 lead after the first quarter.
Play slowed in the second quarter but the Tigers maintained their lead despite Varsho sitting out the final 7 minutes with two fouls. Molter hit a shot at the buzzer to give the Tigers a 24-17 advantage at halftime.
Molter’s shot started a 13-6 run where she scored all nine of her points. Michaelis closed the run with another 3-pointer as Marshfield pushed its lead to double digits at 35-23. Michaelis added the final five points of the quarter as the Tigers closed with a 9-0 run to finish off their 23-point quarter and take a 20-point lead into the fourth.
“It was really exciting,” Caitlin Michaelis said. “We all got together before the game and got really pumped up. I think we were really ready to go and played as a team and everything went really well.”
Marshfield is searching for its 10th straight regional title and Heidi Michaelis hopes the Tigers are peaking at the right time.
“We have a lot of different people that can do a lot of different things for us,” Heidi Michaelis said. “When they do that, we look good.”
Tigers 60, Old Abes 32
Eau Claire Memorial 12 5 10 5 – 32
Marshfield 15 9 23 13 – 60
MEMORIAL (32): Jenna Sturz 3-9 0-0 6, Sam Becker 0-0 0-0 0, Lauren Novak 2-5 0-0 5, Beth Richmond 0-2 0-2 0, Katelyn Fladten 0-1 0-0 0, McKenna Gruber 2-6 0-0 4, Morganne Gruber 4-7 0-0 8, Katie McLain 0-2 0-0 0, Tina McCann 3-6 3-7 9, Syd Neville 0-0 0-0 0. FG: 14-38. FT: 3-9. 3-pointers: 1-10 (Novak 1-3, Mo. Gruber 0-2, Richmond 0-2, Becker 0-1, Sturz 0-1, Fladten 0-1). Rebounds: 21 (Sturz 5). Turnovers: 14. Fouls: 11. Fouled out: none. Record: 14-10.
MARSHFIELD (60): Ellie Kummer 1-3 0-0 3, Taylor Varsho 5-14 4-4 15, Tiffany Stagardt 1-2 0-0 2, Darian Molter 4-7 0-0 9, Natalie Zuelke 1-1 0-0 2, Caitlin Michaelis 7-13 0-1 19, Emily Goeppinger 0-1 0-0 0, Sara Fuller 0-0 0-0 0, Leah Ripp 0-2 0-0 0, Mikayla Zimmerman 0-0 0-0 0, Courtney Bauer 1-1 0-0 2, Ellie Fehrenbach 2-3 4-6 8. FG: 22-47. FT: 8-11. 3-pointers: 8-21 (Michaelis 5-10, Varsho 1-5, Kummer 1-2, Molter 1-2, Ripp 0-1, Goeppinger 0-1). Rebounds: 30 (Stargardt 6, Fehrenbach 6, Kummer 5). Turnovers: 8. Fouls: 8. Fouled out: none. Record: 18-5.