WALES — The third time was the charm for Albany, as the Comets overcame their sectional final curse with a 65-40 win over Oakfield on Saturday, March 4. With the win, Albany advances to the WIAA Division 5 state tournament at the Resch Center in Green Bay. It’s the Comets’ first state trip in program history. 

Albany (28-0, 12-0 Six Rivers East) had reached the sectional final the previous two years, losing to Black Hawk 55-39 in 2021 and Randolph 43-31 in 2022. 

“It’s almost like a story book,” Albany head coach Derik Doescher said. “A, we’ve never been there in school history and B, third time is the charm. We’ve had two years of heartache.”

Little did the Comets know those losses prepped them for the celebration that would come. Against Randolph, Albany had to defend UW-Milwaukee-commit Jorey Buwalda, who scored 19 points with 12 rebounds.

“That game against Randolph, even in a loss, was a program changer for us,” Doescher said. “We had to guard Jorey Buwalda, one of the best post players in the state going to UW-Milwaukee, and it taught us how to guard the post. Who would have though, fast forward a year, that we were going to play a team like Oakfield with post players. Tonight, we knew we could compete with the size and that it would be a matter of making shots.” 

Because of lessons learned from Buwalda, Albany limited the damage caused by post players Stella and Jorja Hoffman. The Comets went on an 11-0 run before Stella Hofman put Oakfield (21-6, 10-2 Trailways East) on the board five minutes into the game.

Albany built up its lead with an opening offensive put-back by Gracie Freitag followed by a 3-pointer from McKenna Broughton. The two teams fought over a jump ball and, on the subsequent inbounds play, Alana Durtschi scored. With a basket from Avary Briggs, Oakfield took its first timeout. After the break, Anna Ellinger scored her first points.

Stella Hofman went to the line on a Durtschi foul, where she made both free throws. The Oaks’ first field goal came from Stella Hofman, too, at the 11-minute mark. Her sister, Jorja, then got in on the scoring with a pair of free throws. With an offensive bucket from Stell Hofman — after grabbing her own miss twice — Oakfield trailed just 12-8. 

The Comets responded with a 15-6 run to close out the half.

After committing her second foul, Briggs grabbed an offensive board and put it back for two points. She then received a kick-out pass from Durtschi for three. Ellinger, who had an empty trip to the free-throw line, made up for it with a wide-open shot from the left block. 

Sophomore Abby Hollis then contributed to the next three scores for Albany. With her first of three 3-pointers in the game, the Comets took a 10-point lead at 22-12. After a bucket of her own, Hollis dished it to Ellinger for two. Ellinger finished the half at the free-throw line yet again, where she made one shot for a 27-14 lead at halftime.

“We wanted to have fun coming in,” Durtschi said of her team’s first-half performance. “We were really tense our last game [sectional semifinal against Barneveld], and it didn’t lead to the first half that we wanted. We knew coming into this game if we played loose, played our game and played for each other, we had a chance to get it done.”

Oakfield, which averaged 28 first-half points coming into the sectional final, didn’t have the first half it wanted. In response, the Oaks started the second half on a 7-2 run.

Marissa Kottke forced a turnover in the back court and turned it into two points for Oakfield. Jorja Hofman then contributed with her own basket. The remaining three points came from Stella Hofman at the free-throw line, as Freitag committed her third and fourth fouls. Freitag went to the bench with just one foul to give with 13 minutes left in the game.

Freitag’s teammates picked her up, though, going on a 15-4 run in her absence. Broughton started the scoring with a bucket. After back-to-back scores from Jorja Hofman, Hollis silenced the Oaks crowd with a three. Out of a Comet timeout, Durtschi went to the line where she made both free-throw attempts. She then drained a shot beyond the arc before dishing to Ellinger for a wide-open bucket. Hollis completed the run, receiving a swing pass for a 3-pointer to take a 44-25 lead.

Ellinger saw more minutes in the sectional final game because Freitag was in foul trouble, and the sophomore made the most of her time on the floor.

“Watching Gracie play the last four years has been inspiring,” Ellinger said of her counterpart. “You have to prove yourself out there. She’s been super supportive. The whole team has been super supportive. It’s easy when you have people on your shoulders telling you to keep going.” 

The two teams exchanged pairs of threes before fouls began to hurt Oakfield. Hollis scored through contact and completed the three-point play at the charity stripe. Durtschi then went to the line for bonus with just over six minutes left in the game. In two trips, she went 4-for-4. 

Three minutes later Hollis went to the line for double bonus, making both of her shots for a 57-32 lead. In the final two minutes, Albany was 9-for-10 from the charity stripe, as Lynsey Streeter and Alexis Leibonow fouled out. Emerson Briggs scored the final point for the Comets with a free throw.

Three players scored in double figures, led by Hollis with 19 points. Durtschi chipped in 10, followed by Avary Briggs with 10. 

Broughton, who scored eight points, contributed with hustle plays, which didn’t go unnoticed by Doescher.

“Kids like McKenna Broughton — she played JV for a few games last year as a junior. We didn’t have enough kids. It was either move a junior down to play a half of JV or not have a JV game. We talked to the juniors, and McKenna said she was willing to play,” Doescher said of Broughton’s sacrifice. “A year later, she’s a difference maker in the sectional final. It’s pretty amazing.”

ALBANY 53, BARNEVELD 39

McFARLAND — To earn its spot in the sectional final, Albany defeated Six Rivers East Conference rival Barneveld for the third time this season on Thursday, March 2.

In their first meeting, the Eagles tested the Comets in a 53-50 contest at Albany. The Comets then earned the regular-season sweep with a 49-25 over the Eagles on Jan. 19. Despite his team’s success against Barneveld, Doescher knew not to overlook Bill Freidig’s squad.

“I know people look at records and say we’re 26-0, that Barneveld finished second in conference. We never thought that. We knew coach Freidig does a great job. We knew this would be an absolute battle,” Doescher said. “I told the girls, ‘I don’t care if we win by one or 50, we have to find a way to win. This is a really good team.’ Ultimately in the second half that’s what we did.”

It took Albany the first half to warm up, though, as Barneveld took an 11-10 edge at the 10-minute mark and led the rest of the half.

A defensive miscommunication left Hailie Larson wide open in the post to make it a 10-8 game in Albany’s favor, followed by a three from freshman Izzy Durst to take the lead.

“They have a really quality team, especially a really quality point guard in Izzy Durst who’s just a freshman,” Doescher said. “If you haven’t played that girl, you don’t understand how shifty she is. For a freshman, she puts a lot of confidence out there.”

Albany had multiple opportunities to tie the game and take the lead at the free-throw line — drawing five fouls in two minutes — but the Comets missed all five shots at the charity stripe. 

Barneveld took advantage of Albany’s missed opportunities, extending its lead with a fast-break basket and pair of free throws from Mya Baker. Ellinger briefly stalled the Eagle run, but Baker kept her hot hand, scoring four more points in the half.

Although Durtschi drained a three with just over a minute left in the half, the Comets entered the locker room trailing 21-16. During the season, Albany trailed at halftime just once before — 25-24 to Belmont on Nov. 29. 

Despite the less-than-stellar first half, Broughton’s confidence never wavered. 

“I had a lot of confidence in my team. I knew that we could come out and play a lot better half,” Broughton said. “Our nerves got the best of us, but I truly never doubted us.”

Broughton’s confidence showed, as she opened the second half with a 3-pointer. She then kept Albany’s next possession alive with an offensive rebound, setting Freitag up for a bucket. With a jump stop bunny in the post, Freitag tied the game at 23.

Rolling with the momentum, Freitag powered through contact to take the lead back. She completed the three-point play at the charity stripe. But a minute and a half later, Freitag hit the replay button, giving the Comets a 32-27 lead.

“We know what she has,” Broughton said of fellow senior Freitag. “When she gets in the post, we have confidence that she will finish every time.”

Although Durst tied the game at 32 with a floater, Broughton padded Albany’s lead back to five. Like Freitag, she completed a three-point play at the free-throw line then received an assist from Hollis. 

With the Comets’ fourth three-point play finished at the free-throw line — courtesy of Durtschi — Barneveld called a timeout. 

The pause proved beneficial for just a possession, as Shelbi Marx scored to cut the deficit to just 15 points. She drew her third foul, though, stopping Avary Briggs from scoring on a fast break. Avary Briggs still came away with two points, converting from the free-throw line.

Four minutes later, Avary Briggs sank a three for a 52-39 lead. Doescher called a timeout to give his players a break with 2:57 left in the game. For the next 70 seconds, the Comets passed and dribbled the ball around, avoiding Eagle defenders. Baker finally fouled with 1:47 left in the game, sending Durtschi to the line for bonus.

Despite an empty trip to the line for Durtschi, Freitag kept momentum on Albany’s side by taking a charge from Elle Pechan. It was Pechan’s fifth of the game, sitting her on the bench for the remaining 1:28 of the game.

Durtschi made up for her earlier missed opportunity, ending the game 53-39 with a free throw. She finished with 12 points, including a pair of threes. Freitag led the offense with 14 points, followed by Broughton with 10.

ALBANY — Entering the 2022-23 season, few outsiders had high hopes for the Albany girls basketball team. The Comets graduated a talented senior class — including Six Rivers East Co-Player of the Year Brianna Dahl — and lost in the sectional final for the second straight year.

Outsiders instead favored Black Hawk or Barneveld for the Six Rivers East title, believing Albany would “take a step backward,” Albany head coach Derik Doescher said. 

The Comets took it personally, choosing the phrase ‘prove them wrong’ as their year’s slogan.

“At the beginning of the season, we weren’t ranked,” sophomore Abby Hollis said. “We weren’t picked to finish first in the conference. We weren’t really chosen for anything. Nobody really believed in us except people in our program and community. Not many people outside of Albany thought we could do it. We chose that saying because we wanted to prove to people that we are good and we will take the next step because we are a really good team.”

STRONG START TO FINISH

In 2021-22, Albany began the season 2-4, dropping its opening conference game to Black Hawk 68-67. This year, the Comets went 7-0 in their opening nonconference games before defeating Argyle 68-22 in the Six Rivers Conference opener. 

The true test came against the Warriors, though. Albany defeated Black Hawk on its home court, snapping a 21-year losing streak in South Wayne. The Comets completed the sweep of the Warriors a month later with their 62-37 win at home. After sharing the conference title with Black Hawk a year ago, the sweep was a welcome change. 

To clinch an undefeated conference season, Albany defeated a red-hot Monticello team 73-36. Junior Alana Durtschi recorded a career-high 26 points in the game, going 6-for-7 from beyond the arc.

Belmont and Barneveld also proved formidable foes.

The Braves, who lost to Blair-Taylor 62-57 in the sectional final, led Albany at halftime 25-24 in their matchup on Nov. 29. The Comets rebounded for a 53-52 win with double-digit offensive performances from senior Gracie Freitag (13 points), Durtschi (15 points) and Hollis (18 points). 

Barneveld was the only other team to lead Albany at the half, but even the Eagles couldn’t over come the second-half push from the Comets. (See “Making history: Albany punches first ever ticket to state”). 

As the season progressed, Albany slowly climbed the Division 5 rankings. The Comets began the year unranked but jumped to No. 5 in Week 2 with a 5-0 record. Over the next two weeks, Albany moved up a spot each week, improving to 7-0 and 9-0. The Comets then spent six weeks at No. 4 before moving up to No. 3 in Week 10. In the final week, Albany secured the top spot in Division 5 with an undefeated 24-0 record.

A DREAM FOR DOESCHER

The last time Albany went to state for basketball was the boys team in 1993. At the time, Doescher was just a seventh-grader. 

“I remember school was shut down,” Doescher said. “It was at the Field House at the time, and the buzz in the community for a small town like Albany was huge.” 

Now, the talk around town is the same. This time, though, Doescher’s daughters are the ones looking up to the high schoolers in awe.

“I have two daughters that are managers and one that is only three. The two older ones that are managers, they look up to these kids,” Doescher said. “They’ve been talking Albany girls basketball now for the last few years as the hype has continued.”

Even though Doescher matured, he still dreamed of a state trip, largely influenced by long-time colleague and former Black Hawk head coach Mike Flanagan.

“My biggest coaching role model has been Mike Flanagan,” Doescher said. “I’m not going to lie, the seven or eight times Mike made it [to state], I was at five or six of those sectional finals. I’d watch him cut down a net and the experience those kids had. You want to be one of those [coaches]. Whether it’s a seventh-grader and watching the boys or a colleague and a coach you admire like Mike, you want to say some day that your kids got there.”

ONE FINAL STEP

Although Albany finally made its state berth, the Comets aren’t done proving outsiders wrong.

When the seeds came out on Sunday, March 5, Albany received the No. 4 seed, despite being the only undefeated team remaining in the entire tournament.

The Comets will face No. 1-seed McDonell Central Catholic (24-5, 14-0 Cloverbelt West) in the Division 5 state semifinal on Friday, March 10. The winner of their semifinal game will advance to the state final on Saturday, March 11 against the winner of No. 2-seed Blair-Taylor (27-1, 13-1 Dairyland Large) and No. 3-seed Wabeno-Laona (21-7, 9-1 Northern Lakes).