PLATTEVILLE — The New Glarus Glarner Knights fell behind by 12 points at halftime and just couldn’t come up with a way to overtake the Platteville Hillmen in a 63-58 loss in a WIAA Division 3 regional semifinal on Friday, Feb. 27.
The Glarner Knights came into the game as champions of the Capitol South Conference and the Hillmen shared the SWC title with Lancaster and had an overall record of 19-5.
The Hillmen never trailed as they took a 32-20 lead at halftime. The Knights tried to cut into that deficit, but could get no closer than 50-45 midway through the second half.
Junior Ellie Brenkman led the Glarner Knights in scoring with 16 points and had seven rebounds. Junior Kate Parman had 14 points and freshman Ellie Parman came up with nine points. Junior Kalia Malaise helped the Knights with four assists. New Glarus was an impressive 21-25 at the free throw line, but was out-rebounded by Platteville 35-26.
Sophomore Quinn Temperly scored 18 points for Platteville.
New Glarus closed the season with a record of 14-12 overall. Coach Kevin Parman will be returning his entire starting lineup next season with Savanah Minter as the only graduating senior from this year’s team.
Division 4
Deerfield 59, Belleville 40
DEERFIELD — The Belleville Wildcats were hoping to avenge an early season loss to Deerfield (53-39 on Dec. 5) in a WIAA Division 4 regional semifinal on Friday, Feb. 27, but the Demons brought the Wildcats’ season to an end 59-40.
The Wildcats (No. 8 seed) made just four field goals in the first half and were down 24-10 at halftime. The Demons (No. 1 seed) made eight three-pointers in the game and used their size to block seven shots on the Wildcats. Belleville coach Eric Liegel said Deerfield’s shooting and size made the going tough for the Wildcats.
“Credit to Deerfield, they came out and hit shots and were able to put us in a hole early. Their defense got us out of rhythm and we just didn’t make enough plays offensively to really put pressure on them and get back into the game,” Liegel said.
Senior Toria Devoe was the leading scorer for Belleville with 19 points in her final game with the Wildcats. She ends her career at Belleville as the all-time leading scorer in school history. Seniors Taya Gilbertson, Cora Funseth, and Bailey McGuire also played their last game for Belleville.
“I’m proud of this group,” said Liegel. “They did a lot of good things this year and continue to grow on and off the court. I just can’t thank them enough for not only what they did for this program but also our school and community. They’re going to go on and do wonderful things and I wish them the best moving forward.”
Belleville finished the season 15-9.
