The Div. 2 overview

Truthfully, this won’t go down as the strongest Division 2 half-bracket this area has ever seen. But, if chalk holds in the early rounds, there’s a great opportunity for a Great Northern Conference team to make a run to the sectional final.

One-seed Mosinee (22-1) is the top candidate to do that. The Indians won their first 21 games before losing 60-57 Thursday at home to Wisconsin Rapids, a team that can still win a share of the Wisconsin Valley Conference title. The Indians rebounded Tuesday with a 61-57 win over Freedom, the state’s top-ranked team in Division 3. The Indians are 11-0 in the GNC and will try to cap a perfect run through the league Friday at home against Medford.

Mosinee is also a perfect 11-0 against potential sectional teams, having swept Lakeland in two close games and Rhinelander in one close game and one not-so-close game. The Indians crushed Shawano 72-28 on Nov. 22 and got by New London 54-43 to open the season Nov. 16.

Mosinee has a little bit of everything –– athleticism, size, experience and shooting. Kate Fitzgerald is second in the GNC in scoring and rebounding, while Lexi Freiboth is second in assists and Jenna Placek is second in field goal percentage.

Led by sisters Julianna and Kristina Ouimette, both of whom have garnered NCAA Division I interest, Lakeland is a threat.

Julianna, a junior, leads the GNC in scoring at 20.2 points per game in league play, while Kristina, a freshman, is third at 15.2. Both can be deadly from 3-point range and, as Medford found out on Feb. 3, so can their teammate Charley Cleveland. The T-Birds also live on turning opponents’ turnovers into transition points. Julianna Ouimette averages nearly seven steals per game in GNC play.

Lakeland doesn’t have an eye-popping record at 15-8, but the T-Birds are 9-2 in the GNC and played a tough non-conference schedule, losing to Valley leader Wausau West, Division 3’s top-ranked Freedom, number-two ranked Waupun and defending state champion Lake Mills. Mississippi Valley leader and defending Division 3 state runner-up La Crosse Aquinas is also on that list.

The T-Birds lost 50-46 at Mosinee on Jan. 14 and fell at home to the Indians 54-42 in their GNC opener way back on Nov. 30.

Third-seeded Rhinelander is another team that won’t wow you with its 14-9 record, but the Hodags do play solid defense. They came up short in a 37-25 slugfest at Mosinee on Feb. 4 and have a 49-41 win at Shawano to their credit. They lost 50-47 in overtime at Lakeland on Friday.

Offensively, the Hodags have relied on balance after losing standout Rebecca Lawrence to graduation last year. Audrey Schiek and Ava Lamers sit behind Kristina Ouimette as the GNC’s fourth- and fifth-leading scorers.

The Hodags gave Wisconsin Rapids a good game Monday, falling 57-47 on the Red Raiders’ home floor.

Bay Conference rivals New London (11-10) and

Shawano (11-12) hold the fourth and fifth seeds. New London got the higher seed due to a 69-30 blowout win over Shawano on Jan. 11, where the Bulldogs outscored the Hawks 39-10 in the second half. The rematch is Thursday in Shawano.

New London lost a 40-39 stunner to 4-19 Antigo on Jan. 25. In Bay play, New London is 6-5 and has split with league leader Appleton Xavier, lost two close games to secondplace West De Pere and split with third-place Menasha. Shawano is 4-7 in the Bay and has wins over Merrill and Antigo.

The other side

The top four seeds from the other side of the bracket are: 1. Rice Lake (18-4 overall, 10-3 Big Rivers). The Warriors are on a 13-1 run heading into Thursday’s season finale at Eau Claire North, including a 50-46 win over Menomonie.

2. Menomonie (20-3 overall, 12-1 Big Rivers). Other than having split with Rice Lake, it’s hard to figure out how the Mustangs got the two seed. They have better overall and league records, beat Rice Lake by a wider margin than the Warriors beat them (11-4) and are 12-1 against potential sectional foes, including wins over La Crosse Central (60-44) and Onalaska (51-45).

3. La Crosse Central (16-7 overall, 9-3 Mississippi Valley): Riverhawks are 11-2 against sectional foes, mostly due to 9-1 record against D2 conference rivals. They have won six straight.

4. Onalaska (13-11, 6-6 Mississippi Valley): Defending sectional champions lost a lot from last year’s team but can’t be overlooked.

The sectional final is set for Saturday, March 5.

Top-seeded McDonell Catholic Central (19-3) ranked fourth in this week’s WisSports.net Division 5 state coaches poll is the viewed as the favorite from this half-bracket to get to the sectional final.

The defending sectional champions finished second in the Western Cloverbelt at 12-2, a game behind Osseo-Fairchild, who is ranked fourth in Division 4. The Thunder handed the Macks two of their three losses. Rice Lake gave them the other one, 43-41, one night before McDonell beat Medford 57-42 on Dec. 30. Since that loss to the Warriors, McDonell is 14-1.

Lauryn Deetz, a 5-4 senior guard, leads the Macks in scoring at 20 points per game, but there’s a handful of capable threats behind her. Defensively, they give up less than 40 points per game.

Another noteworthy result was a 59-44 win over Eastern Cloverbelt champion Neillsville on Jan. 18.

Second-seeded Prairie Farm (17-5) has clinched at least a share of the East Lakeland Conference in its first season in the league. The Lakeland dissolved its old Central Division and moved those teams into the East or West. The Panthers host Flambeau Thursday to try to seal the deal. They won 58-33 at Flambeau on Jan. 18.

Lake Holcombe upset the Panthers 63-58 on Thursday for their only league loss. Prairie Farm is 15-2 against sectional teams with the other loss coming to Northwood 43-30 on Jan. 20. The Panthers get 20 points per game from junior Marnie Kahl and 16 from junior Sydney Junkans.

Flambeau (15-5) eked out the three-seed despite getting swept by Lake Holcombe. The Falcons, though, boosted their résumé with four key wins against sectional teams Rib Lake, Gilman, Prentice and South Shore. The 41-35 win at Gilman on Nov. 29 was probably key to where both teams ended up in the computer seedings. The 38-31 win over South Shore Friday was big as well.

Lake Holcombe (15-5) is 11-2 in the East Lakeland and the team that could still mathematically match Prairie Farm in the standings. The Chieftains have the sweep over Flambeau to their credit and the win over Prairie Farm, which one would’ve thought might’ve gotten them the third seed. But a 52-42 loss to Gilman on Jan. 4 might have been a factor. Lake Holcombe gets 18.5 points per game from Brooke Lechleitner.

Clear Lake (17-6) sits in a second-place tie with Siren in its first run with the West Lakeland Conference with a 14-3 mark. The Warriors are on a hot streak, having won 11 of their last 12. Three of their losses have come to bigger schools –– Colfax, Baldwin-Woodville and Ellsworth.

Gilman (16-7) could be a team to watch as a six-seed. The Pirates got off to a 1-4 start, but have been 15-3 since. Tatum Weir is a double-double machine and has hit two tripledoubles with blocked shots. Emma Grunseth also gets her share of double-doubles and if Madisyn James is knocking down 3s, the Pirates can be a tough out.

The other side

The top four seeds from the other side of the bracket are: 1. Northwood (21-0 overall, 16-0 West Lakeland): The Evergreens are ranked sixth in the state this week. Wins over Clear Lake were close (44-37 and 33-26). Also tipped Siren Tuesday 42-38. They get scoring and rebounding from 6-foot seniors Emme Golemblewski and Emily Berg.

2. Hurley (19-4 overall, 15-1 Indianhead): The Northstars are just ahead of South Shore atop the Indianhead and they meet Thursday at South Shore. Hurley won first meeting 57-38 on Jan. 14.

3. South Shore (20-3 overall, 14-1 Indianhead): Losses are to Hurley, Flambeau and Division 2 Ashland. Cardinals get over 24 points and 11 rebounds per game from 5-11 junior Lily Truchon.

4. Siren (19-4 overall, 14-3 West Lakeland): Dragons will finish second behind Northwood in the conference. Swept by Northwood and split with Clear Lake, winning 45-42 on Jan. 11 and losing 61-50 on the road Thursday.

The sectional final is set for Saturday, March 5.

–– Compiled by Sports Editor Matt Frey