This story is sponsored by Victory Apparel
By Steve Pilz
For MarshfieldAreaSports.com
STRATFORD – It took Stratford a little while to get out of the starting blocks, but once it did the Tigers never looked back.
Stratford dispatched Bonduel 47-24 in a WIAA Division 4 girls basketball regional semifinal on Saturday night at Stratford High School. The Tigers (17-7) will play in a regional final at Wittenberg-Birnamwood (22-1) on Monday at 7 p.m.
Stratford dropped a nonconference game at Wittenberg-Birnamwood 36-35 back on Feb. 6.
With their leading scorer Andie Zuelke on the bench early in the game saddled with two fouls, the Tigers had some trouble against a packed in 2-3 zone, obviously employed to stop the 6-foot-1 senior.
But, just like that, things changed. Leading 9-5 with 8:40 left in the first half, sophomore Blaire Lindner was fouled on a 3-point attempt. She canned all three free throws to make it 12-5. Senior Sammie Griesbach stole a pass and made a driving lay-up to take the lead to nine, forcing a Bonduel timeout. That was the last time the game would be close.
“We stuck to the game plan,” Tigers coach Tammie Christopherson said. “We were so disciplined. We knew they were coming after us with a 2-3 zone. It’s not a big secret that we’re not great shooters from the outside. We found a way to make it work. The biggest difference was our offensive boarding.
“They packed Andie (Zuelke) in pretty darn tight. That allowed some of our other kids like (Chelsey) Gliniecki, (Kaylee) Hollatz and even Sammie (Griesbach) to get to the basket. It’s coming together at the right time.”
Stratford closed out the half strong, leading 22-9 after 18 minutes.
Perhaps, sensing their season slipping away, the Bears were forced to play man-to-man defense in the second half. It didn’t work.
Taya Nett, Griesbach and Gliniecki each made three field goals in a stretch that saw the Tigers go 9 for 13 from the field, signaling the beginning of the end for the visiting Bears.
The Tigers shot a tidy 9 for 20 in the second half and made 70 percent (16-for-23) of their free throws in the game to turn back a game, but over-matched Bonduel squad.
The Tigers’ leader seemed ready to play tomorrow.
“Wittenberg/Birnamwood is a solid team,” Christopherson said. “We need to go back and see if we can limit their post play. We only scored like 10 points in the first half of that game. We just came up a little short. Tonight was a huge boost for us.”
Tigers 47, Bears 24
Bonduel 9 15 – 24
Stratford 22 25 – 47
BONDUEL (24): Danee Collier 2-4 0-0 4, Hayley Sorenson 1-8 1-2 3, Emily Sorenson 2-6 0-3 4, Brynn Reinke 2-4 0-0 6, Kailee Pederson 0-8 1-2 1, Ashlyn Schnell 1-2 1-2 3, Jessie La Berge 0-0 1-2 1, Katlyn Bohr 0-0 2-2 2. FG: 8-35. FT: 6-16. 3-pointers: 2-13 (Reinke 2-4, H. Sorenson 0-4, Pederson 0-4, Kylie Guenther 0-1). Turnovers: 16. Fouls: 18. Fouled out: E. Sorenson. Record: 17-7.
STRATFORD (47): Taya Nett 3-5 1-1 7, Blaire Lindner 1-5 4-5 6, Sammie Griesbach 3-10 7-8 13, Chelsey Gliniecki 5-9 3-7 13, Kaylee Hollatz 3-5 0-0 7, Andie Zuelke 0-1 1-2 1, Mariah Zawislan 0-1 0-0 0, Olivia Burrows 0-1 0-0 0, Brooke Peterson 0-1 0-0 0. FG: 15-38. FT: 16-23. 3-pointers: 1-7 (Hollatz 1-3, Lindner 0-3, Nett 0-1). Turnovers: 12. Fouls: 20. Fouled out: Hollatz, Nett. Record:17-7.