DODGEVILLE — A rowdy showdown at the WIAA Division 4 sectional semifinal featured No. 1-seeded New Glarus (26-1, 10-0 Capitol South) against No. 2-seeded Cuba City (25-3, 14-0 SWAL) on Thursday, March 2. The Cubans won the back-and-forth battle 56-50.
Cuba City opened the first half by outscoring the Knights by eight in the opening minutes.
At 7:14, Cuba City pushed its lead to 10 points with an Ella Vosberg layup and a pair of free throws by Olivia Olson.
Jordyn Runde got the Knights two points closer before the Cubans responded with a bucket by Weigman. Moments later, New Glarus got a two-point boost from Lindsey Schadewalt under the hoop, followed by a two on the elbow by Elle Lancaster after both squads fumbled the ball in New Glarus’ paint.
Late in the half, an Alex Atwell defensive rebound led to Schadewalt going to the line for one-and-one, where she made both.
As the clock ticked past 60 seconds, Atwell brought the Knights within two points on a fast-break layup that prompted a timeout from Cubans head coach Jason Derby at: 45.8.
Cuba City came out of the timeout ready to play, as Olson dropped in a floater from the elbow. Lancaster responded with a 3-pointer in the closing seconds, bringing New Glarus within one at 27-26 at the half.
“I was really happy with how our girls did their jobs,” Derby said. “Rowe and Wiegman took turns guarding Schadewalt, who is the best shooter we saw all season and has other offensive tools to go along with it.”
Payton Schneider opened scoring in the second half with a two, giving New Glarus its first lead since the opening couple minutes of the game. Vosberg answered quickly with a layup, though.
A five-point New Glarus lead was nearly erased on back-to-back baskets, resulting in a Knights timeout at 6:32. The momentum swing evoked roars from the Cuban crowd, with the Knights’ lead at just 42-41.
Olson came out of the break with a three off a Vosberg steal only 45 seconds later, giving Cuba City the lead yet again. Grace Nommensen then tied the game with a layup over Crist.
Crist then drained a shot in the paint to push for a Cuban lead before Atwell tallied another score to tie the game.
In the next 20 seconds, Vosberg went 1-for-2 at the free-throw line, while Olson went 2-for-2.
The Cubans later pushed their lead to six points with only 2:50 left.
Schadewalt finally got New Glarus back to scoring with layup off a steal on Olson at 2:15. The Knights started fouling, though, sending Rowe to the line for bonus throws, where she missed her first attempt.
Rowe saw a second consecutive trip to the line at 1:25 for one-and-one, making both shots this time.
With 30 seconds knocked off the clock, Olson took a one-and-one trip to the line, making only the first and giving Cuba City a six-point lead with 49 seconds remaining.
Nommensen brought the Knights within four points off a jumper along the baseline with just 13 seconds left.
On the subsequent inbounds pass, New Glarus fouled Olson when she got the ball. Olson made both shots, giving Cuba City a 56-50 lead with only seconds on the clock.
Schadewalt and Nommensen paced the Knights with 14 points each. Atwell also scored in double figures with 13 points, sinking one of New Glarus’ two 3-pointers. The other came from Lancaster (five points).
New Glarus ended its season with a 26-1 record, marking the end of its historic season. The Knights recorded their first undefeated conference and regular season in program history. After being ousted from the WIAA tournament by Mineral Point a season ago, New Glarus avenged its loss to the Pointers with a 63-43 victory in the regional championship.
Three players ended the season averaging double figures: Schadewalt (23.8 ppg), Atwell (13.3 ppg) and Nommensen (11.3 ppg). In fact, Schadewalt finished second in Division 4 for 3-point percentage, making 69 of 139 attempts (.496). As such, she will be participating in the 3-point challenge, taking place during the girls state tournament at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, March 11.
— Natalie Dillon contributed to this article
