JANESVILLE - Tears streamed down Brodhead senior Taylor Douglas' face as she hugged basketball fans for the last time.
Douglas couldn't fight back the tears after a heartbreaking 56-48 loss to Lodi in a WIAA Division 3 sectional semifinal Thursday night.
"We had our chances," Douglas said. "We just couldn't finish our shots. Free throw shooting was a big factor. This team has had so much adversity. We have had eight knee injuries. That is something everyone won't forget; Brodhead and their ACL injuries."
Brodhead (23-2) looked to be in a golden position to win the game leading by as many as seven points late in the fourth quarter, but the Cardinals couldn't slam the door on the Blue Devils. The Cardinals had two turnovers in the final 2 minutes and shot an uncharacteristic 52 percent from the free throw line (13 of 25). It's the second straight year the Cardinals have lost in the sectional semifinal.
Brodhead junior Carly Mohns scored 24 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. It was a tough loss to swallow for the Cardinals, since they had a seven point lead and struggled from the foul line.
"Free throws were huge and we just couldn't convert them," Mohns said. "You hate to say it, but we would like to have some of them back and wonder what would have happened. It's the worst feeling, but it happened."
Lodi junior Gretchen Schutz drilled a game-tying 3-pointer with 42.5 seconds left in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 43. Douglas sank two free throws with 24.4 seconds to go to give the Cardinals a 45-43 lead. Lodi senior Sierra Jiran was fouled with 2.2 seconds to go, and she made both free throws to tie the game at 45 and send it to overtime.
Brodhead coach Brad Pickett said he didn't consider using a 1-3-1 press at the end of the game so the Blue Devils (23-2) would have to work harder to get the ball up court.
"We played good defense in the last 10 seconds," Pickett said. "(Jiran) just got open down low and Carly fouled her. She didn't want to give up a freebie. Giver (Jiran) credit. She stepped up and made the shots. They just made big shots at big times. We didn't take care of the ball a few possessions in the fourth quarter. We talk about doing the little things and we didn't do it."
The Blue Devils outscored the Cardinals 11-3 in overtime and made 6 of 8 free throws in the final 47 seconds to seal the win.
"That has been our season all year," Lodi coach Kristi Paskey said of the comeback. "We have come back in a lot of games this year. People don't really say much about Lodi. They have believed in themselves and we believe in them."
Early on, fans may have been talking about the Blue Devils as they jumped out to an 8-2 lead. The Cardinals struggled penetrating the Blue Devils' 2-3 zone. Brodhead stormed back with a 10-0 run kick-started by 3-pointers from junior Rachel Heller and Mohns, giving the Cardinals a 10-8 lead. Lodi senior Autumn Paulson, who scored a team-high 17 points, knocked down a 3-pointer at the end of the first quarter to give the Blue Devils a 13-10 lead.
Schutz battled foul trouble in the first half. She picked up her third foul with 2:52 left in the second quarter. Heller gave the Cardinals a spark late in the second quarter. She scored on a layup with 1:09 to go in the period to give the Cardinals a 21-20 lead. She also drilled a 3-pointer that helped the Cardinals battle back to take a 24-23 lead at the half.
Brodhead freshman Kylie Moe and junior Meg Duffield each knocked down 3-pointers to spark a 7-0 run at the end of the third quarter to give the Cardinals a 34-27 lead.
Brodhead senior Mariah Ahrens scored on a layup on a pinpoint pass from Mohns to give the Cardinals a 39-32 lead with 4:31 left in the fourth quarter. The Blue Devils didn't go away quietly. Schutz hit a jumper and Jiran scored on a putback to slice the Cardinals' lead to 39-37 with 2:56 to go. Jiran, who scored 11 points and had 13 rebounds before fouling out, converted on a three-point play with 1:27 to go that cut the Cardinals' lead to 43-40. That set the stage for Schutz and Jiran down the stretch.
Schutz hit a clutch 3-pointer and Jiran made two pressure-packed free throws to send the game to overtime.
"(Schutz) has made four shots like that this year," Paskey said. "There is no one I would rather have at the line than Sierra."
Heller added 10 points for the Cardinals. Lodi sophomore Taylor Baker chipped in 13 points.
Douglas will always remember being just two wins from the state tournament.
"Our free throws didn't go in," she said. "We had to keep shooting and that is what we did. We went to overtime and worked our butt off. We just didn't come out on top. I will be watching them next year and cheering them on."
Brodhead graduates six seniors from the conference championship team but will have three starters back next year.
"I think any time you can get to this game, experience helps," Pickett said. "I told the underclassmen let's not feel this way again. We don't want to go into the locker room again with everyone's heads down. I don't want this feeling again."
Douglas couldn't fight back the tears after a heartbreaking 56-48 loss to Lodi in a WIAA Division 3 sectional semifinal Thursday night.
"We had our chances," Douglas said. "We just couldn't finish our shots. Free throw shooting was a big factor. This team has had so much adversity. We have had eight knee injuries. That is something everyone won't forget; Brodhead and their ACL injuries."
Brodhead (23-2) looked to be in a golden position to win the game leading by as many as seven points late in the fourth quarter, but the Cardinals couldn't slam the door on the Blue Devils. The Cardinals had two turnovers in the final 2 minutes and shot an uncharacteristic 52 percent from the free throw line (13 of 25). It's the second straight year the Cardinals have lost in the sectional semifinal.
Brodhead junior Carly Mohns scored 24 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. It was a tough loss to swallow for the Cardinals, since they had a seven point lead and struggled from the foul line.
"Free throws were huge and we just couldn't convert them," Mohns said. "You hate to say it, but we would like to have some of them back and wonder what would have happened. It's the worst feeling, but it happened."
Lodi junior Gretchen Schutz drilled a game-tying 3-pointer with 42.5 seconds left in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 43. Douglas sank two free throws with 24.4 seconds to go to give the Cardinals a 45-43 lead. Lodi senior Sierra Jiran was fouled with 2.2 seconds to go, and she made both free throws to tie the game at 45 and send it to overtime.
Brodhead coach Brad Pickett said he didn't consider using a 1-3-1 press at the end of the game so the Blue Devils (23-2) would have to work harder to get the ball up court.
"We played good defense in the last 10 seconds," Pickett said. "(Jiran) just got open down low and Carly fouled her. She didn't want to give up a freebie. Giver (Jiran) credit. She stepped up and made the shots. They just made big shots at big times. We didn't take care of the ball a few possessions in the fourth quarter. We talk about doing the little things and we didn't do it."
The Blue Devils outscored the Cardinals 11-3 in overtime and made 6 of 8 free throws in the final 47 seconds to seal the win.
"That has been our season all year," Lodi coach Kristi Paskey said of the comeback. "We have come back in a lot of games this year. People don't really say much about Lodi. They have believed in themselves and we believe in them."
Early on, fans may have been talking about the Blue Devils as they jumped out to an 8-2 lead. The Cardinals struggled penetrating the Blue Devils' 2-3 zone. Brodhead stormed back with a 10-0 run kick-started by 3-pointers from junior Rachel Heller and Mohns, giving the Cardinals a 10-8 lead. Lodi senior Autumn Paulson, who scored a team-high 17 points, knocked down a 3-pointer at the end of the first quarter to give the Blue Devils a 13-10 lead.
Schutz battled foul trouble in the first half. She picked up her third foul with 2:52 left in the second quarter. Heller gave the Cardinals a spark late in the second quarter. She scored on a layup with 1:09 to go in the period to give the Cardinals a 21-20 lead. She also drilled a 3-pointer that helped the Cardinals battle back to take a 24-23 lead at the half.
Brodhead freshman Kylie Moe and junior Meg Duffield each knocked down 3-pointers to spark a 7-0 run at the end of the third quarter to give the Cardinals a 34-27 lead.
Brodhead senior Mariah Ahrens scored on a layup on a pinpoint pass from Mohns to give the Cardinals a 39-32 lead with 4:31 left in the fourth quarter. The Blue Devils didn't go away quietly. Schutz hit a jumper and Jiran scored on a putback to slice the Cardinals' lead to 39-37 with 2:56 to go. Jiran, who scored 11 points and had 13 rebounds before fouling out, converted on a three-point play with 1:27 to go that cut the Cardinals' lead to 43-40. That set the stage for Schutz and Jiran down the stretch.
Schutz hit a clutch 3-pointer and Jiran made two pressure-packed free throws to send the game to overtime.
"(Schutz) has made four shots like that this year," Paskey said. "There is no one I would rather have at the line than Sierra."
Heller added 10 points for the Cardinals. Lodi sophomore Taylor Baker chipped in 13 points.
Douglas will always remember being just two wins from the state tournament.
"Our free throws didn't go in," she said. "We had to keep shooting and that is what we did. We went to overtime and worked our butt off. We just didn't come out on top. I will be watching them next year and cheering them on."
Brodhead graduates six seniors from the conference championship team but will have three starters back next year.
"I think any time you can get to this game, experience helps," Pickett said. "I told the underclassmen let's not feel this way again. We don't want to go into the locker room again with everyone's heads down. I don't want this feeling again."
