SOUTH WAYNE — For the fourth year in a row, Black Hawk has qualified for the WIAA Division 5 state tournament. The feat is not entirely unmatched, as 18 other schools have done it. In fact, seven schools have done five or more trips, and Milwaukee Washington made it 7-straight from 1992-98.

What makes this Warriors program separate from the rest is the number 75. Not only has Black Hawk averaged 75 points per game this season (74.8 to be exact), but the program has won 75 consecutive basketball games dating back to the opening game of the 2018-19 season. 

Black Hawk’s last loss was in the 2018 state championship against Bangor — the freshman season for Bailey Butler, Kaylee Marty and Macie Stauffacher. The trio has four years of varsity experience under their belt and a 103-1 record. They won the state title in 2019, and the 2020 state tournament was wiped out when the COVID-19 outbreak began. 

“It’s really exciting for us seniors, because for thee of the four of us, it’s our fourth time back at state,” Stauffacher said. “It’s definitely going to be a different atmosphere, but we’re really excited to go back.”

All three players have had different roles on the roster since their freshman season. Butler entered as a starter and averaged 15.5 points per game as a freshman, splitting much of the scoring with sister Hannah and Natalie Leuzinger, who is currently a Wisconsin Badger.

“She really came into her freshman year undaunted and didn’t play like a freshman. I feel like her maturation process was accelerated because she was thrown into the fire so early,” Black Hawk coach Mike Flanagan said.

Butler has been an all-state player each year and has scored 1,937 career points — a school record. This year she led the entire state in scoring at 28.6 points per game. In her four seasons with the Warriors, she’s grabbed 498 rebounds, dished out 557 assists and stolen the ball 560 times. In 104 games, she’s turned the ball over just 162 times. It’s no coincidence that UW-Green Bay is bringing her aboard with a scholarship for next season.

“She really just has been a wonderful distributor and facilitator, and at the point guard position, having a kid who can make other people better, but then when she needs to, she can just go and make a play for her team, it’s just special,” Flanagan said. 

In Butler’s career, she’s averaged 18.6 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 5.4 assists and 5.4 steals per game. This year, she’s averaged 7.9 boards, 8.9 assists and 6.3 steals — all among the top marks in the state. She also led the state in 3-point percentage (45.7%), and is a candidate for the annual Miss Basketball award, given to the state’s top senior.

Marty came off the bench in each of her first three seasons, but spent much of the time as the sixth-man, the first person to check in each game. This year as a starter, Marty has exploded onto the scene, averaging 15.0 ppg — previously her individual game high. On Feb. 1 of this year, she set a career high with 26 points in a blowout win over Pecatonica. She also has 197 career steals and 150 assists in 103 games.

“We’ve put a lot on this court, and we definitely left it all out there,” Marty said. “Experience is huge, especially with these big games coming up.”

While Butler and Marty saw a large number of minutes each night for four years, Stauffacher started high school at the end of the bench, but has worked day after day to improve. She averaged just 1.5 points per game her first three seasons, then this year as a starter has averaged 6.3 points per game thanks to her sharpshooting ability from outside. While Butler was the state’s top 3-point shooter in Division 5, Stauffacher finished No. 2 (40.5%). 

“I would definitely tell the younger girls to work hard — because it definitely pays off. I put in a lot of time in the summer, and any time I had available to be in the gym I was working,” Stauffacher said. 

The trio was joined a season ago by another 2021 graduate, Makayla Mau, who had transferred in from Riverdale. It took Mau, a 6-1 forward, a little bit to catch on with the Black Hawk’s scheme her first season. The up-and-down pace is not something a player can just step onto the court and succeed with. This season, with the pace slowed down a bit and a half-court scheme aimed at her skill set in the post, Mau has more than tripled her scoring output as a senior. She’s averaging 8.8 ppg and another 5.6 rebounds. Her size also alters how other teams go about their business. In the sectional final against Albany, Mau was a force defensively in the paint, finishing with 5 blocks and 7 rebounds. 

“Last year was a struggle, entering a whole new program. But this summer I worked with and worked my butt off and I knew that this season would be different,” Mau said.

The WIAA Division 5 state tournament will be held in just one day at the La Crosse Center on Thursday, Feb. 25, and Butler said the Warriors go in with the purpose of not just winning for this year’s team, but for redemption for the 2020 seniors that missed out on defending the program’s 2019 championship.

“It would mean a lot to win, just because us seniors knew what it felt like last year when we watched those seniors be told we couldn’t play. We really just want to play for them and play for this community,” Butler said.

Black Hawk earned the No. 1 seed and faces Three Lakes (19-5) in the first game, slated for 9:05 a.m. 

Three-seed Wisconsin Rapids Assumption (14-8) and second-seeded McDonnell Catholic Central (12-3) will face off at 12:35 p.m.

The championship is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

For Black Hawk’s four seniors, that means the end of the line in a Warriors uniform will no doubt come on Thursday.

“I’m glad I got to go the furthest you can go, but it’s definitely going to be bitter sweet being up there and playing with these girls one last time,” Stauffacher said.

Scouting Three Lakes

The Bluejays finished third in the Northern Lakes Conference, losing four games combined to Wabeno/Laona (20-5) and Crandon (17-5). Crandon beat W/L in the regional final, but then lost to Randolph (21-4) in a Division 4 sectional semifinal. Three Lakes’ other loss was to Division 2 Rhinelander in the third game of the season. Three Lakes, ranked 9th, beat Athens in its Sectional 2 championship.

In fact, the Bluejays opened with a 2-3 record before rattling off wins in 17 of the next 19 games.

Sydney Lurvey, a senior guard, is the team’s top scorer, averaging 14.5 ppg this year, including hitting more than two 3s per contest. She’s scored 1,187 points in her career in 89 games (13.3 ppg). Taylor Kolling, another senior guard, is averaging 9.8 ppg this season and has 1,114 in 87 career games (12.8ppg). Junior Mari Szews is the Bluejays top scoring threat inside the paint, averaging 7.9 ppg and another 7.5 rpg. 

Scouting Assumption

The Royals opened the year just 3-6, but closed by winning 11 of their next 13 games. In the sectional final against top-seeded and 8th-ranked Wauzeka-Steuben, Assumption rolled to a 21-point victory.

Assumption’s leading scorer, junior Ainara Sainz de Rozas Martin, is averaging 13.4 points per game this season and had a career-high 27 against Greenwood in this year’s regional semifinal. Senior Jessie Grundhofer has scored 933 points in 97 career games and is averaging 12.4 ppg this year. She scored a career-high 25 in the regional final Feb. 13 against Loyal.

Emily Bohn, the team’s third-leading scorer (9.3 ppg) gets the most attention from opposing teams. The 6-foot-4 post player has an offer from Truman State University in Missouri. She’s averaged 6.6 rebounds per game in her career, including nearly 8 per game between last year and this year. She’s recorded 49 blocks in 21 games this season, and has averaged more than 2.2 per game throughout her four seasons with the Royals.

Scouting McDonell Catholic Central

The Macks, out of Chippewa Falls, have won their last seven games of the season — all spread out over the course of six weeks. The squad entered the postseason ranked No. 5 in D5. The Macks played just two games in a 32-day stretch between Jan. 11 and the start of the tournament Feb. 12. 

In the sectional tournament, the Macks, despite being ranked 5th in D5, were seeded third in a “group of death,” with all four teams ranked in the top 10. McDonnell Catholic went on to upset both No. 6 Northwood by 15 in the semifinal and No. 2 Prairie Farm in the sectional championship by 19. Prairie Farm had knocked off 10th-ranked South Shore by 8 in its sectional semifinal.

Junior guard Lauryn Deetz leads the team at 13.7 ppg, and senior guard Anna Geissler is next at 11.5 ppg. Freshman Emily Cooper has been a boon to the Macks’ offense, averaging 8.3 ppg. Junior Destiny Baughman leads the team in rebounding at 6.0 per game.