FALL RIVER — Albany saw its season end with a 58-37 loss to Fall River in a WIAA Division 5 regional final Feb. 29.
“Fall River is a great team,” Comets coach Derik Doescher said. “They are senior-led and played at state last year. This loss and experience to play in such a game will play huge dividends in the future.”
To make it to the regional final, Albany recorded a come-from-behind 51-48 overtime win at Shullsburg the night before.
“I’m proud of our girls for an 18-7 record and getting to the regional championship. We took another big step this year for our program,” Doescher said.
In the loss to Fall River, Brianna Dahl and Payton Wachholz each had 14 points for Albany. The Comets scored just 13 points in the first half and trailed by 16. In the second half, Dahl and Wachholz combined to score 17 points to try and keep their team in the game.
Albany made just five 2-pointers, but hit seven 3s in the game — including four by Wachholz and two by Dahl.
In the win over Shullsburg, Albany trailed 20-16 at halftime and fell behind by nine with just over 14 minutes to play. With 1:50 left in regulation, the Comets took a brief lead at 43-42 before the two teams went into the extra session of play tied at 43.
Kristin O’Bel led Albany with 17 points, while Wachholz had 12, Dahl 11 and Kaiya Zurfluh seven.
Aquinas 94, Darlington 44
LA CROSSE — The Redbirds were unable to budge one of the state’s most imposing programs. Aquinas, the back-to-back winner of the WIAA Division 4 state championship, took a 69-29 lead into halftime against Darlington during their regional semifinal Feb. 28.
Taylor Theusch led all scorers with 24 points for Aquinas, while teammate Lexi Donarski added 22. Macy Donarski (14), Jacy Weisbrod (14) and Kayla Bahr (12) also reached double figures for Aquinas.
Allison Thompson led Darlington with 17 points, while Marissa Gould added 15.
Aquinas went on to defeat Luther by 30 to reach the sectional round.
Cuba City 48, New Glarus 40
CUBA CITY — The Cubans held a 39-38 lead with 4:08 remaining and were able to close out their WIAA Division 4 regional semifinal contest against the Glarner Knights at the charity stripe.
Cuba City made 11 of 12 free throws over the final five minutes of the game to earn the win. The Cubans were 8 of 10 from the line in the first half and 13 of 14 overall in the second half. New Glarus was held to just 10 attempts in the game, hitting eight.
Jaylynn Benson led New Glarus with 18 points, while Dylan Noll and Lily Himmelmann each had six. The Knights trailed 22-19 at halftime.
Kiera Holzemer led the Cubans with 22 points, while Parker Kopp and Bailey Lutes each finished with 12.
The Cubans lost to rival Mineral Point in the regional final.
In other area scores, Argyle lost 68-34 to Randolph Feb. 28. The Orioles trailed 28-13 at halftime but were outscored by 19 in the second half.
