‘Cats end season in sectionals

Edgar can’t stop turning the ball over

By Casey Krautkramer

The Edgar varsity girls basketball team’s recipe for success heading into Thursday’s game against defending WIAA Division 5 state champion Wisconsin Rapids Assumption was to limit its turnovers, which lead to easy transition points for the Royals.

Edgar discovered this is easier said than done during its 50-42 loss to Assumption in a Division 5 sectional semifinal in Marshfield.

The Wildcats played well in the first half against the Royals and took a 21-18 halftime lead on senior guard Maila Hoesly’s three pointer with 25 seconds remaining.

Edgar’s turnovers, however, caught up to it in the second half. Assumption’s full-court press was too much for Edgar to handle in the final 18 minutes of the game, as Royals freshman guard Sarah Shaw converted her steals into layups toward her gamehigh 20 points.

Shaw and her fellow backcourt mate, senior Ainara Sainz de Rozas, took over the game in the second half against Edgar. Hoesly drained a three pointer, only to see Shaw answer it with a trey of her own to give the Royals a 35-28 advantage with nine minutes, 50 seconds left in the game. Sainz de Rozas sank a three pointer to give Assumption a comfortable 45-31 lead with four minutes, 50 seconds remaining. Sainz de Rosas scored 14 points in the victory against Edgar.

Edgar head coach Tom McCarty said junior center Reagan Borchardt played well despite not receiving as many touches as she’d like to in the team’s half court offense, because Assumption’s quick guards were stealing the ball before the Wildcats could get past the center line to set up their offense. The Wildcats actually shot a fairly good 47 percent on 20 of 43 shooting from the floor. The issue is Edgar committed seven more turnovers, 27 to 20, than Assumption.

“We actually shot a pretty good percentage against Assumption, but we just didn’t get a lot of shots because we turned the ball over too much and that hurts because it takes Reagan out of the game,” McCarty said. “Reagan doesn’t get touches if we are turning the ball over in the backcourt, and we need her to get as many touches as possible in games. Even with our team having 27 turnovers, she still had 13 points, so imagine what would’ve happened if we cut down our turnovers to 10 and she gets 10 more shots? Give credit to Assumption because it turned our mistakes into points on its end and that was the name of the game.”

Borchardt led Edgar with 13 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks. Sophomore forward Makayla Wirkus added 10 points and junior guard Leah Davis had nine. Senior forward Karlin Lipinski paced the Wildcats with four assists and Hoesly added three.

Edgar finishes this season with a 20-8 record. Assumption ended up beating Wabeno/Laona, 40-26, in a WIAA Division 5 sectional championship on Saturday afternoon at D.C. Everest. Assumption, 26-3, is now just two games away from winning backto- back state championships. Assumption begins the state tournament this Friday morning, March 11, against Chippewa Falls McDonell.

The Wildcats, meanwhile, say goodbye to four senior players including Skylee Manecke, Malia Hoesly, Karlin Lipinski and Madison Borchardt. Junior guard Leah Davis will always treasure her time spent with the seniors in practices and games this season.

“The seniors definitely helped us younger players out a lot and they encouraged everyone on the team to do well,” Leah Davis, the daughter of Stewart and Jody Davis, said. “Now that it’s my second year in a row losing in sectionals, my teammates and I will have a chip on my shoulders next season so we’ll hopefully go further in the playoffs.”

Coach McCarty is also thankful to his senior players that won regional championships the past three seasons.

“I can’t say enough about these seniors and the effort and devotion they’ve given to Edgar girls basketball,” he said.

The future remains bright for Edgar’s varsity girls basketball team next season. McCarty said junior players Reagan Borchardt and Morgan Schnelle have been on the varsity team the past three seasons that captured regional championships and played in sectionals. Edgar’s other junior players Olystra Baumann, Amber Skrzypcak and Leah Davis played on the varsity squad the past two seasons when the team won regional titles and played in sectionals.

“I think you’ve already seen the growth in these players from last year to this season,” McCarty said. “They just need to bottle up the feeling of losing this sectional game against Assumption and use it as motivation for next season.”