Monroe’s Benzschawel nets 5 for D2 South squad

WISCONSIN DELLS — Monroe’s Megan Benzschawel and the South team lose to the North 111-71 in the WBCA Division 2 senior all-star game July 14.

Benzschawel scored five points for the South, which had all 12 players reach the scorebook, with just one, Carleigh Roberts, reaching double figures (10).

Beaver Dam’s Natalie Jens scored a game-high 25 points for the North. Onalaska’s Olivia Gamoke scored 14, Notre Dame’s Sammy Opichka 14, Notre Dame’s Georgia Gregoire 14, West De Pere’s Alexa Thompson 12 and Beaver Dam’s Paige Yagodinski 10.

The North opened the game on a 26-9 run in the first quarter and led 55-28 at halftime. After the third quarter, the North led 80-50.

Local trio leads D5 South Girls’ All-Stars to victory

WISCONSIN DELLS — Black Hawk’s Bailey Butler and Kaylee Marty battled it out on the court with Shullsburg’s Layla Alt several times during their illustrious high school careers. For their final prep game, those three local standouts teamed up to lead the Division 5 South All-Star team to victory.

Butler poured in a team-high 13 points and came up with a key steal late in the game, while Marty netted seven points and Alt chipped in with three as the South rallied from behind in the fourth quarter to edge the D5 North All-Stars, 51-49, in the opening game of the 2021 Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) All-Star Games held at the JustAgame Fieldhouse in Wisconsin Dells on Wednesday, July 14.

The North pulled out to an 18-11 by the end of the first quarter, but the South came storming back to outscore their foes by an 18-13 margin in the second half to cut the deficit down to two by the halftime intermission.

A pair of baskets by Independence’s Ziyannah Conner and another by Alt in the third quarter kept the South within a two heading into the final period. Marty scored off an assist from Butler early in the fourth quarter to put the South into the lead, and then Butler– the 2020-21 Wisconsin Miss Basketball– buried her third 3-pointer of the game with 9:47 remaining to put the team up 47-43.

The North cut the South lead back to 51-49 on a basket by Prairie Farm’s Makaylin Christensen with 1:40 to play, but the South clamped down on defense from there. The North had a chance at the last shot to tie or win it, however Conner knocked the ball away and Butler scooped it up with just one seconds remaining to seal the victory.

Conner finished with nine points for the South, while Potosi/Cassville’s Anna Kartman added two points for the victors. 

Edgar’s Makenna Guden sank three 3s on her way to a game-high 14 points for the North. Loyal’s Savannah Schley scored eight points in the loss.

The South went 3-2 during the 44th annual WBCA All-Star Games, posting wins in the Division 4, 77-57, and Division 3, 100-83, games. The North won the Division 2, 111-71, and Division 1, 93-73, contests.

The WBCA made donations of $20,000 each to Camp Hometown Heroes, Camp Wawbeek/Easter Seals of Wisconsin, Garding Against Cancer, the MACC Fund and Ronald McDonald House Charities of Eastern Wisconsin from the fundraising efforts prior to the All-Star Games. The D5 South girls’ team raised the most money out of all the All-Star teams this season.

Girls D4 All-Star Game a family affair for Lutes

WISCONSIN DELLS — Brad Lutes had the pleasure of coaching his daughter, Bailey, in her final two seasons at Cuba City High School. He also had the honor to coach her in her final prep basketball game.

The Lutes’ father/daughter-coach/player combination teamed up one final time to guide the Division 4 South All-Stars over their North counterparts, 77-57, at the 2021 Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Girls’ All-Star Games held at the JustAgame Fieldhouse in Wisconsin Dells on Wednesday, July 14.

Bailey Lutes was one of seven players to score six or more points as the South used a balanced scoring attack and a strong defense performance to lead Coach Lutes to a 20-point victory over the North.

The South held a 17-14 lead at the end of one quarter of play and was up 38-29 at the half. In the third quarter, Lutes’ squad came up big on both ends of the court adding 22 points on offense and limiting the North to just 10 points on defense to open up a 60-39 advantage.

Marshall’s Anna Lutz scored 14 of her team-high 18 points in the first half for the South. Howards Grove’s Maddy Near chipped in with 11 points, while Mishicot’s Kylie Schmidt added nine points and Marshall’s Laura Nickel followed with eight for the South. Jaylynn Benson of New Glarus scored two points.

Ba. Lutes tallied seven points and Howards Grove’s MacKenzie Holzwart and Winnebago Lutheran Academy’s Alayna Suprenand provided six apiece in the win.

The South finished 18-of-20 from the free throw line in the game and out-shot the North from the field, 27-23, and 3-point range, 5-2.

Unity’s Raegan Sorensen poured in a game-high 27 points for the North.

The South went 3-2 during the 44th annual WBCA All-Star Games, posting wins in the Division 4, 77-57, and Division 3, 100-83, games. The North won the Division 2, 111-71, and Division 1, 93-73, contests.

WBCA made donations of $20,000 each to Camp Hometown Heroes, Camp Wawbeek/Easter Seals of Wisconsin, Garding Against Cancer, the MACC Fund and Ronald McDonald House Charities of Eastern Wisconsin from the fundraising efforts prior to the All-Star Games.

Darlington duo teams up one last time at the WBCA Division 4 All-Star Game

WISCONSIN DELLS — The Darlington duo of Carter Lancaster and Cayden Rankin did all they could to help the Division 4 White All-Star team keep pace with the high-scoring Division 4 Red All-Star team during the 2021 Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) All-Star Games held at the JustAgame Fieldhouse in Wisconsin Dells on Thursday, July 15. 

However, the late rally sparked by the two Redbirds came up just a bit short as they ended their stellar prep careers with a 127-117 loss in their final game together. 

Lancaster poured in 14 of his team-high 22 points in the fourth quarter as the White All-Stars cut a double-digit deficit down to seven with two minutes remaining, but the Red squad scored seven unanswered points down the stretch to pull away for a 10-point victory.

Rankin, who finished with 11 points, chipped in with two points in the fourth quarter.

The cousins had special numbers on their jerseys to honor Aaron Lancaster, a state championship player at Darlington and National Championship player at UW-Platteville during his own storied basketball career. Lancaster got to wear his dad’s high school number of 34, and Rankin got to wear his uncle’s college number of 40. 

Cuba City’s Brayden Dailey and Jack Misky teamed up one last time and added one more win to their stellar prep career total as each hit double figures to lead the D4 Red All-Stars. Dailey scored 18 of his game-high 23 points in the second half to lead seven members of the Red All-Star team in double figures. Misky chipped in with 11 points for the Red squad, which actually wore grey uniforms in the game.

The Red All-Stars sank six of their 12 3-pointers in the first quarter to shoot out to a 38-29 lead by the end of the first quarter. 

The White rallied to outscore the Red, 30-23, in the second quarter to close the deficit to two at half at 61-59, but the Red came storming back with 33 points in the third quarter to the White’s 26 points to pull back ahead by nine heading into the final stanza.

Dailey buried three treys and hit both his free throw attempts in the fourth quarter to help keep the Red All-Stars in the lead. The White pulled within seven with two minutes to play, but the Red team reeled off seven unanswered points to take a commanding 125-111 lead.

The Prairie School’s Antuan Nesbitt netted 22 points for the Red, followed by Parkview’s Tyler Oswald with 16, Oconto’s Josh Woller with 14 and Abbortsford’s Cade Faber and Poynette’s Nic Feller with 12 apiece.

Milwaukee Academy of Science’s Donald McHenry scored 20 points and Southern Door’s Alex Daoust netted 18 for the White squad. Cameron’s Richie Murphy also reached double-digits with 15, while Edgar’s Kyle Brewster and Cameron’s Austin Weis each tallied nine points in the loss.

The Red All-Stars went 3-2 during the 44th annual WBCA All-Star Games, posting wins in the Division 2, 118-107, and Division 3, 127-121, and Division 4 games. The White won the Division 1, 112-104, and Division 5 contests.

The WBCA made donations of $20,000 each to Camp Hometown Heroes, Camp Wawbeek/Easter Seals of Wisconsin, Garding Against Cancer, the MACC Fund and Ronald McDonald House Charities of Eastern Wisconsin from the fundraising efforts prior to the All-Star Games. 

Cummins, D5 White All-Stars roll to victory in boys D5 game; Gustafson nets 11

Darlington Republican Journal

WISCONSIN DELLS — Benton sharp-shooter Dominick Cummins sank a pair of 3-point baskets on his way to an eight-point performance that helped carry the Division 5 White All-Star team over the Division 5 Red All-Stars, 133-95, in a wild, high-scoring affair at the 2021 Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) All-Star Games held at the JustAgame Fieldhouse in Wisconsin Dells on Thursday, July 15.

It was a bit confusing with the Red All-Stars coming out dressed in grey uniforms in Thursday’s games. No matter the color, the Red/Grey squad got off to a fast start, shooting out to an early 34-17 advantage. The White team used a 9-2 run at the end of the first quarter to cut the gap to 10, and then outscored their opposition in the second half, 32-20, to take a 58-56 lead into the intermission.

The White kept up the pace in the third quarter, using a 32-18 scoring advantage to build up a 16-lead heading into the final period.

Cummins buried two of his team’s seven fourth-quarter 3-pointers as the White pumped in 43 points over the final 12 minutes of play to run away with a 38-point decision with a 133-95 victory.

Monticello’s Peter Gustafson tallied 11 for the Red team. Wauzeka-Steuben’s Gavin Ralph led four Red All-Stars in double figures with 17 points. Blair-Taylor’s Matt Waldera followed with 15 and Eau Claire Immanuel Lutheran’s Ryan Zimmerman added 14.

Hustisford’s Dylan Kuehl scored 20 of his game-high 30 points in the opening half to lead the White All-Stars rally. McDonell Central Catholic’s Jake Siegenthaler and Randolph’s Brayden Haffele each buried four treys to chip in with 24 and 23 points, respectively, for the White team, which knocked down 56 shots from the field including 16 3-pointers in their win.

Rio’s Jacob Rowe also reached double figures with 12 points, while Bruce’s Dan Brockman matched Cummins with eight points and the Cambria-Friesland duo of Kobe Smit and Griffin Hart netted seven apiece for the White All-Stars.

Iowa-Grant’s Isaac Hill scored four points in the loss.