WISCONSIN DELLS — Seniors Chloe Schraepfer (Pecatonica) and Abbie Dix (Brodhead) represented southern Wisconsin in the 41st Annual WBCA All-Star Games on Wednesday, June 28. Schraepfer’s Division 5 team lost 75-68, while Dix’s Division 3 team lost 73-69.

Although Schraepfer had a chance to play basketball again in the Six River All-Stars game on June 23, she was happy to represent Pecatonica one last time.

“It was fun,” Schraepfer said. “I got to meet a lot of new people, and the experience was cool.”

Schraepfer played for the Division 5 South team, coached by Josh Tarrell and assisted by former Black Hawk girls basketball coach Mike Flanagan. Although Flanagan assisted outgoing girls head coach Cora Lierman in 2022, he was thrilled to get back on the court.

“It’s always fun to get back in the huddle and feel that adrenaline pumping,” Flanagan said. “I was fortunate that coach Tarrell asked me. It was kind of him to extend that opportunity.”

The Division 5 South team raised the most amount of money of the girls teams with $57,598. Potosi-Cassville’s Emily Bierman, who also played on the D5 South team, was the overall top player fundraiser, collecting $37,111. D5 South assistant coach Kathleen McGettigan from Belmont was the top coach fundraiser with $2,375.

“One of the best things about being part of this event is that bigger scope that it represents,” Flanagan said. “Small schools always support their student athletes, so it’s no surprise that, year after year, the smaller schools are often the biggest fundraisers.”

The Division 5 North began the game with a 7-2 lead following an offensive put back from Marnie Kahl (Prairie Farm) and banked three and a pair of free throws from Lily Truchon (South Shore). The South got within one, 7-6, with a free throw from Braylee Hyatt (Cashton) and a three from Tori Nodolf (Belmont).

It wasn’t until the closing minutes of the first quarter that the South took its first lead. Schraepfer sparked the run with a free throw, followed by a three-point play by teammate Maddy Benson (La Farge). The defense then forced a shot clock violation and took a 13-11 lead with a jump shot from Lindsay Steien (Blair-Taylor).

Although a free throw from the North’s Rachel Schlies made it a one-point game, the South regained momentum with a basket from Nodolf, assisted by Abby Thompson (Blair-Taylor). The South took a 15-12 lead into the second quarter. There, the team opened with a 19-2 run.

Thompson received a kick-out pass for a three, and Jayla Nagel (Kickapoo) went 1-for-2 from the free-throw line following a fast break. The North returned the favor, as Bailey Rikkola (Sevastopol) drew a foul and made both of her free throws. Those were the only North points in the second quarter until just under three minutes remaining.

Nagel countered with an offensive put-back and Bierman made both of her free-throws. With six and a half minutes remaining in the first half, Schraepfer got a kick-out pass and drained a three, giving the South a 26-14 lead. The team extended its lead to 20 points just two and a half minutes later on a three from Benson.

Rikkola stopped the South’s run with a three of her own with just under three minutes left. The North closed the second quarter on a 10-6 run, five of those points on free throws, trailing the South 40-24 at halftime.

The North played aggressively in the third quarter, driving to the basket and drawing fouls. Following a pair of free throws from Lillian Fuhs (Iola-Scandinavia), Tatum Weir (Gilman) stole the inbounds pass and scored to make it a 46-36 game. The South’s lead hovered around 10 points for roughly two minutes before the North closed the third quarter on an 11-0 run to make it a 50-49 game.

In the third quarter alone, the North scored 25 points. They had scored just 24 points in the entire first half.

Although the South extended its lead back to four points, the North tied the game at 55 with a pair of three throws from Weir. The South reclaimed the lead momentarily with a three from Kat Miller (Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah), but Carleigh Kaczmarek (Gillet) countered with a three of her own in the next possession. The North then took the lead for good with a basket from Schlies with seven minutes left in the game.

The closest the South got to retaking the lead was on a three from Hyatt with two and a half minutes left. At that time, the South trailed 67-66, but the North ended the game on an 8-2 run, going 6-for-8 from the charity stripe.

The North finished 29-for-35 at the free-throw line with four players in double figures. Reagan Borchardt (Edgar) had 14 points, Weir 13, Kahl 12 and Truchon 10.

The South had three players score 10 points: Nagel, Miller and Hyatt. Schraepfer scored four points from a free throw and 3-pointer. 

Following the Division 4 game and a performance by the Milwaukee Bucks Rim Rockers, the North began the Division 3 game with an 18-10 lead, thanks to offensive boards, a pair of free throws from Megan Schuman (Brillion) and five points from Breah Golden (Arcadia). 

The South cut into the North’s lead with free throws from Charlotte Ferstl (River Valley) and Bella Pitta (Lake Mills), but the team ended the first quarter trapped in the corner, trailing 20-15.

Dix scored first in the second quarter, getting her team within three points. The North responded with a 9-2 run for a 10-point lead three minutes into the quarter. Dix’s offensive put-back stopped the run, and the South was able to get within six with a bucket from Maria Messling (Evansville). 

A lack of defensive rebounds and fouls put the North to the line, though, where Madi Dogs (Kewaksum) made her first three throw, and Heather Gaikowski (Somerset) grabbed the second’s rebound for two points. 

The South ended the half with buckets from Camryn Nies (Platteville) and Syliva Fox (Edgerton) to make it a 36-30 game at halftime.

The two teams came out of the locker room hot, exchanging 10 points in the first minute of play. A pair of free throws from Sydney Bartels (Freedom) and a three from Emma Adleman (Kiel) padded the North’s lead back to 11 points two minutes into the third quarter.

The North’s lead hovered around 10 for the remainder of the third quarter, despite a three-point play from Pitta and banked 3-pointer by Sarah Strande (Racine Lutheran). 

While the two teams scored 10 points in the first minute of the third quarter, it took two minutes for either team to score in the fourth. Despite three fouls on the North, the South’s first two fouls sent Dogs and Bartels to the line, where they went 3-for-4. 

The North neared a 20-point margin following a three-point play by Schuman, but the South went on a 12-0 run to make it a 69-63 lead with two minutes left in the game. Alicia Burgos made back-to-back baskets, Pitta was perfect at the free-throw line, Ashlyn Knapp sank a three and Mya Hartjes (University School) drove the basket untouched for two.

Attempting to force a turnover, the South applied a full-court defense. The North broke the press, though, scoring to make it a 71-63 game. A pair of free throws from Golden extended the lead by two points, forcing the South to foul.

Dogs missed her bonus free throw with 6.2 seconds left, giving Hartjes enough time to grab the rebound, dribble down the floor and bank a buzzer-beating three-pointer for a final score of 73-69 in favor of the North.

Golden and Schuman led the North with 12 points each, while Hartjes and Messling led the South with 10 and 11 points, respectively. Dix scored four points in the second quarter.

It was Dix’s last game representing Brodhead before she heads to UW-Whitewater in the fall to continue her volleyball career.

“It was really fun,” Dix said. “I enjoyed meeting new people and being able to have fun playing basketball one last time.”