Saints come marchin’ in; Searching for first state trip
You know what they say. “Always a bridesmaid, never a bride.”
But the St. Croix Falls Girls Basketball Team is out to change all that — and they will begin with their quest on Thursday night.
Angie Maternowski
“We’ve never been to the state tournament. Sectional finals is the furthest so far,” said Coach Angie Maternowsky.
To make the final push to State, Coach Maternowsky would need to overcome the school’s bridesmaid tag as a coach. Although, she has tasted the sweetness of the big show. “My history with State as a coach is sectional finals. As a player from Durand, it was the state semi-final game,” she said.
Last year the Saints lost the Sectional Final to Arcadia 52-49. Had they won they would’ve gone to the state tournament.
Their record was 24-2 a year ago and their only other loss was to Clear Lake (46-39 in SCF). At the time Clear Lake was undefeated and made it to the state championship game in a different division, but was unable to play that final game because of the lockdown.
“The experience of making it to the Sectional Finals last season has helped this team focus this season. We only graduated one senior off of last year’s team,” said Maternowsky.
She added, “We know what our ultimate goal is and are taking one game at a time to get there. The packed and loud gym last year was an experience they will remember.”
This year, the Saints defeated St. Croix Central, 72-33, then took on nearby rival Unity. The Eagles won their Lakeland West Conference crown with a 10-0 mark and they were 20-0 coming into the regional final against the Saints.
But 21-1 St. Croix Falls, winner of the Heart of the North Conference with a 15-1 record, turned back Unity, 53-38 to advance to the final four of the Sectionals.
Unity had beaten Bloomer, 59-42 to get to the region finals.
“It is always fun to play Unity because of the rivalry we have had for years! The girls all know each other,” said the Saint coach.
The Saints take their Division 3, No. 6 ranking into the first sectional game at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 18 at St. Croix Falls against Neillsville (20-1).
The Saints were ranked No. 2 in the section and Neillsville No. 3. No. 1-ranked La Crosse Aquinas (17-0) will take on No. 4 Northwestern (15-5) in the other game. The two winners will play on Saturday, Feb. 20 to determine the Sectional 1 Champ and the winner gets a trip to the state tournament.
When it comes to Neillsville and Aquinas, Coach Maternowsky said, “We have been playing our best defense lately. We need to continue playing tough defense.”
When it comes to scoring, the Saints have three leaders. Emily McCurdy averages 15.1 points per game; Olivia Miron 14.8 and Brianna McCurdy 10.3
“We are a very even team for scoring. Any one of the top six kids can be the leading scorer in a given night,” said Maternowsky.
What the coach likes best is the way, “We are playing team basketball.”
She calls her club “very unselfish”.
Miron is the team’s top rebounder with an 8.5 rebound per game average and 186 rebounds on the year. Emma Cooper had a 6.2 average with 136 rebounds and Emily McCurdy has 102 rebounds this year.
Cooper and Brianna McCurdy are the team’s theft artists with nearly three steals a game apiece.
The Saints have outscored opponents 1,394 to 783 this year, for an average margin of 63-36.
When it comes to three-point shooting, the team leader is Brianna McCurdy, who has scored 35 three-pointers, shooting about 33 percent for the year. Neuman has added 22 and Emily McCurdy 21 three-pointers.
To win the section and advance to state, Coach Maternowsky says we will have to play good defense. “Aquinas has a lot of offensive threats that we need to contain,” she said.
REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP:
St. Croix Falls 53, Unity 38
ST. CROIX FALLS: (Points) Olivia Miron 15; Emily McCurdy 11; Lucia Neuman 8; Brianna McCurdy 8; Emma Cooper 6; Kaylee Miron 5.
UNITY: (Points) Raegen Sorensen 14; Sydney Bader 13; Lizzy Tilton 6; Sierra Swanson 3; Cora Schmitz 1 .
REBOUNDS: SCF-Miron 12; B. McCurdy 8. Unity: Bader 6; Sorensen 5.
STEALS: SCF-Miron, McCurdy 4 each.
Score by Halves:
SCF 28 25 — 53
Unity 24 14 — 38
GIRLS SECTIONALS
Section 4
Lakeland Central Champion Clear Lake (18-0) will open the sectionals against No. 1-ranked Phillips (15-1). The other game will pit Edgar (13-8) against Fall Creek (12-7).
Clear Lake was ranked fourth and Phillips first in this sectional.
Section 5
Two area teams will put their seasons on the line. Getting the top nod in this sectional is Prairie Farm, the Lakeland Central Champion with an 18-2 record.
They will host South Shore (16-3). The other game will feature No. 2 ranked Northwood (16-3) against McDonell Central Catholic of Chippewa Falls (8-3).
Northwood finished second to Prairie Farm with a 7-2 conference record and victories by Prairie Farm and Northwood will pit the familiar finals in the sectional finals for a chance to play in the state tournament.
The two familiar teams played twice this year with Prairie Farm winning both times.