BELLEVILLE — The Wildcats entered last offseason knowing some key pieces would be returning for the 2024-25 season. The players hit the hardwood and weight room in order to prepare for a potential deep run in the postseason — something they knew they could do, despite the heavily talented sectional they would face.

After winning the Capitol South title, Belleville brushed off Darlington (16-9) and 2-seed Argyle-Pecatonica (22-4) to win a regional championship. The Wildcats now face one of the top programs in state history — top-seeded Cuba City (21-5), which blew out co-SWAL champ Mineral Point (19-7) 82-50. Cuba City has reached state 17 times in 48 years, winning the championship 11 times. Belleville, meanwhile, has never reached the state semifinal.

“It’s win or go home. Both teams are going to bring it,” Belleville’s Toria Devoe said after her team’s 45-36 home win against Darlington Feb. 28 in the regional semifinal. “Both teams are going to be battling hard. We just have to rest up and then we get back at it against another really good team.”

The following night, Belleville (21-5) ousted Argyle-Pecatonica 61-58. AP was a state qualifier in Division 5 last season and spent much of the season high in the Division 4 rankings.

In the regional final on the road, Toria Devoe scored 16 points to lead her team, while senior forward Maddi DeSmet had a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Nikole Schultz added 12 points, while Khylee Lietz had seven points and seven rebounds. Off the bench, Hayden Caskey put forth a strong effort, especially in the first half, finishing the night with eight points and four rebounds.

Belleville went into the half with a 31-17 advantage, and it took AP much longer to make it a one-possession game than hoped.

Brooke Wellnitz had a double-double for AP, tallying 17 points and 10 rebounds to go with four steals. Kylie Butler had 20 points to lead all scorers, and Avari Steiner added 16 points, including going a solid 4-for-9 from three. Loretta Tisch (3 pts) struggled shooting on the night, finishing just 1-for-8 overall, with the lone basket a three-pointer.

It was the second straight night Belleville’s defense allowed just four players to score. Against Darlington, the Redbirds received scoring from Sadie Goebel (13), Maddie Gratz (10), Catie Hartwig (9) and Lylah Norgard (4). Darlington shot just 13-for-42 (30.9%) from the field. AP didn’t finish much better in the semifinal at 19-for-55 (34.5%).

Against Darlington, DeSmet paced all players with 20 points and 15 rebounds. Perhaps just as important as her trusty hands inside the post is her free throw shooting ability. DeSmet was a perfect 6-for-6, with seemingly every attempt from the charity stripe contributing to timely points.

“It’s one of those things I really focus on, especially coming into this year,” DeSmet said. “I don’t shoot it from the outside very much, but knowing that if I can get it inside and get a foul called I can at least make some free throws for my team.”

Devoe had 17 against the Redbirds, including hitting a pair of pull-up threes and scoring nine points in the first half. A late Redbird bucket at the buzzer tied it at 17 headed into halftime.

“Most of the time we just couldn’t hit a shot,” Devoe said. “ It was hard for us, but we just had to put our heads down and make up for it on the defensive end.”

Belleville coach Eric Liegel told his kids to keep shooting despite their struggles.

“They wanted to know their stats, so I told them,” said Liegel, who emphasized he told his girls to relax themselves a bit. “Five-for-26. That’s what we shot in the first half. Five-for-26. We’re a team that feeds off confidence. I knew once we hit a big one, we’d probably hit another one.”

Addison Edge was just 1-for-12 on the day, but her five points came at the most crucial time. With just three minutes left in the game and tied at 34, Edge buried a corner three — the first points of any Belleville player not named Devoe or DeSmet. The bucket sparked a 10-0 run that included a three from Schultz on the next trip down the court and a pair of free throws each by Edge and Devoe, effectively putting the game away with less than 40 seconds left and a 10-point lead.

“When it’s a one-possession game like that, any little run really does affect the game,” Liegel said. “Lucky for us, we hit two shots in a row.”

Hartwig had nine rebounds for Darlington, while Gratz added seven boards. In the first half, Gratz was the one on a scoring streak, hitting four tough shots in the paint. In the second half, that identity switched to Hartwig, who scored seven of her nine points in the second stanza.

“We’re growing into a system — with every new coach there’s new terminology and new things,” said Darlington head coach Mike Flanagan. “I felt like we built and built and built as the season went on. The effort’s been great. Tonight, we had to play an almost perfect game to win. There’s a reason they (Belleville) have won 20 games. They’re a good ball club.”

In his first year leading the Redbirds, Flanagan’s squad finished in third place in the SWAL, with Cuba City and Mineral Point ahead of them, splitting the league title. Flanagan’s squad graduates just one player, Lylah Norgard, a role player that Flanagan praised for making the most out of her opportunity.

“We only lose one senior, but we’re going to miss her a ton. She’s been just a joy to coach. She does everything we ask,” Flanagan said. “She doesn’t have an extreme skill level, but she just plays hard and is coachable. She’s been the flag bearer for a lot of the attributes that we want our program to signify.”

Belleville at Cuba City are set to match up at 7 p.m. on March 6 at Lancaster High School. The winner will face either Neillsville (23-3) or Aquinas (22-4) at 1 p.m. on March 8 at Wisconsin Dells High School for the chance to punch a ticket to the WIAA state tournament next week in Green Bay.