The Lancer girls basketball team finished the regular season in strong form, defeating the Hilbert Wolves Monday night, 43-34, and then taking the Div. 5 state-ranked Sheboygan Lutheran Crusaders into overtime Thursday, but falling just short of the upset, losing 58-56. The Lancers start WIAA postseason play this Friday, hosting Howards Grove in a 7pm game.
On Monday the Lancers traveled to face Hilbert, jumping out to a 27-15 halftime lead, and then keeping the Wolves at bay in the second half for the win. Junior Jenna Lischka led all Lancer scorers with 14 points and also nabbed 7 rebounds. Seniors Emily Marohn and Brianna Bessler each contributed 8 points.
Thursday we hosted Sheboygan Lutheran in our final regular-season game, In thrilling fashion, we came back from a 32-23 halftime deficit against Sheboygan Lutheran. We ramped up the defense to hold the Crusaders to just 17 points in the second half, while seniors Emily Marohn and Brooklyn Luebke turned on the scoring for the Lancers. Marohn scored 12 second-half points, while Luebke added 8. The Lancers took it into overtime with a 49-49 score, but couldn’t quite manage the win, losing by 2. Marohn scored 20 points in the game, with Luebke adding 18.
JV1 also had a thriller against the Crusaders, defeating them in double overtime, 66-60. On Monday they defeated Hilbert, 51-28, and finish the season with an impressive 16-3 record. JV2 also capped their season with two wins, defeating both Waupaca and Two Rivers, and finish with a 6-5 season record.
The Lancer girls varsity tied for third with Howards Grove in the Big East North conference, each finishing with 11-8 conference records. Our Lady Lancers now take their 14-10 overall record into postseason play after being awarded a #4 seed and first-round bye in the Division 4 bracket. This Friday at 7pm we open WIAA play in the second round, by hosting #5 seed Howards Grove (14-11). The Tigers are a familiar Big East foe, with the Lancers going 1-1 against them during the regular season – suffering a 43-23 loss on Dec. 2nd, and then defeating the Tigers 45-41 on Jan. 28th.
The winner of Friday’s game will then move on to play in the Regional final Saturday night, location TBD. Saturday’s opponent would be either #1 seed Laconia or #8 Random Lake/#9 Cedar Grove-Belgium.
God’s blessings, Lady Lancers!