Edgar beats nemesis Assumption

Squad then falls short of trip to state

By Casey Krautkramer

The teams, playoff game and venue were all the same on Thursday night but the final game result was not the same this year compared to last year. Edgar’s varsity girls basketball team finally got the “monkey off their back” by beating Wisconsin Rapids Assumption, 38-36, in the WIAA Division 5 sectional semifinal at Marshfi eld High School.

Before Thursday, the last time Edgar had beaten Assumption was on November 26, 2019. That 2019-20 season was Betty Urmanski’s last before she retired from coaching. Thus Thursday was current Edgar head coach Tom McCarty’s first Wildcats coaching vic-

WILDCAT GIRLS SECTIONALS tory against Assumption.

This year Edgar avenged last season’s 50-42 loss to Assumption in the WIAA Division 5 sectional semifinal at Marshfield High School. On Thursday, Edgar’s student fans wore Hawaiian themed apparel just like they did in last year’s sectional semifinal against Assumption.

“When we found out we were in white uniforms one Thursday we said, ‘hey, we were in black uniforms last year’ and then we got to Marshfield and they put us in the same locker room and on the same bench as last year and we said, ‘oh no’, but I’m glad it wasn’t the same result,” coach Mc-Carty said.

Unfortunately, Edgar couldn’t sustain the wave of momentum it gained from defeating Assumption into Saturday’s sectional championship, with an opportunity to advance to the state tournament for the first time in school history. Edgar lost, 53-43, to a hot shooting Wabeno-Laona squad.

On Thursday, Edgar led the entire first half against Assumption to take a 19-14 lead at the break. Wildcats senior guards Morgan Schnelle and Olysta Baumann did an admirable job getting the basketball across half court to beat the Royals’ full-court pressure defense. Junior guards Taylor Lemmer and Maycie Yonker also played great off the bench by making timely shots when they were open during the first half.

A few minutes into the second half, senior center Reagan Borchardt had two straight blocked shots on defense to hold Assumption at bay on offense. Edgar got into a bit of foul trouble when Borchardt and junior forward Makayla Wirkus each picked up their third fouls in one minute apart from each other with 13-1/2 minuets left in the game. Wirkus then picked up her fourth foul with just over 10 minutes remaining, which helped Assumption get back into the game.

The Royals tied the game at 27 points for each team with seven minutes, 53 seconds left. The Wildcats, however, retook the lead on Borchardt’s one of two made free throws after she was fouled. Senior guard Leah Davis then shook off her first-half rust from shooting the basketball behind the arc to drain a three pointer and give Edgar a 31-27 advantage.

Borchardt then drew a charge on defense against Assumption sophomore Anna Schooley. During Assumption’s timeout, the Edgar student section yelled, “I believe that we will win.” Assumption senior Cristin Casey’s made basket after the timeout cut Edgar’s lead to just two points at 31-29. Royals senior Maleia Kolo’s made basket tied the game at 31 points for each team with just over three minutes left.

A little later in the game, Schnelle’s timely jump shot from the foul line gave Edgar a 34-31 lead. Wildcats senior Amber Skrzypcak stole the basketball and was fouled. She made one of two bonus free throws to give Edgar a 35-31 advantage. The Wildcats then turned the ball over which led to an easy Royals layup. The Wildcats hung onto a slim 35-33 lead.

With only 33 seconds remaining, Wirkus was fouled by Assumption freshman Jordan Jaglinski. Wirkus sank both of her double bonus free throws to give the Wildcats a more comfortable 37-33 lead. That was until Assumption junior Kendall Duellman drained a three pointer to cut Edgar’s lead to only one point with 17 seconds left in the game.

Edgar later had a crucial in bounds play with only five seconds remaining. Wirkus received the in bounds pass and she firmly held onto the basketball until she was fouled with only 1.3 seconds left. She made her first double bonus free throw to give Edgar a 3836 lead. Coach McCarty then called a timeout to make sure his players knew how to defend Assumption during its last shot attempt, regardless if Wirkus made or missed her second free throw.

Wirkus said after the game she tried to make her second free throw, but her miss actually worked out in Edgar’s favor because the remaining time went off the clock when the basketball hit the floor.

“It was a huge win,” Wirkus said. “We knew that we could do it and we just worked together well to pull off the win.”

Coach McCarty said he switched the team’s defense late in the second half which helped the Wildcats beat the Royals.

“They started to really attack us in our man-to-man defense so we switched to a 2-3 zone in the last six minutes or so and I thought that threw them off guard because they struggled to find the right shot,” he said.

Borchardt had a monster game against Assumption with 14 points, 21 rebounds and five blocked shots. Wirkus added 13 points and she led Edgar with four steals. Edgar shot the basketball 40 percent overall from the field compared to Assumption which shot 23 percent, mostly due to the Wildcats’ tough defense.

“It feels great to beat Assumption,” Borchardt said. “We hadn’t beaten them since my freshman year and I wasn’t even playing at the time. We had this little target on our back that they’ve always beaten us, so we just got sick of it and we finally pulled through and beat them.”

Schnelle did a great job summarizing the team’s victory against Assumption which ended its season with a 24-4 record. The Royals were ranked sixth in the final wissports.net Division 5 coaches poll while the Wildcats were unranked.

“It feels good like it’s finally a dream come true,” she said, while gathering with her friends and family members after the game.

Shooting woes in finals

Edgar only shot 28 percent overall from the floor during its 53-43 sectional finals defeat to Wabeno-Laona. Wabeno- Laona shot 39 percent. Borchardt achieved her usual double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds in the loss, but she was the only Wildcats player to score in double digits. Wirkus led the Wildcats with six deflections, four assists and three steals.

The Wildcats concluded their season with a 23-6 record while the Rebels improve to 21-7. Wabeno/Laona advances to the 47th WIAA Division 5 state tournament for the first time since its cooperative girls basketball program was formed between the two schools. Wabeno qualified for state in 1982 as a standalone program, but Wabeno lost in the state semifinal.

The WIAA Division 5 girls state tournament games begin at 9:05 a.m. this Friday, March 10, with number one seed Chippewa Falls McDonell, 24-5, against number four seed Albany, 28-0. After the first game ends, then number two seed Blair-Taylor, 27-1, will play number three seed Wabeno/ Laona, 21-7. Albany and Blair-Taylor are making their first trips to the state tournament in school history. This is McDonell’s third consecutive trip to the state tournament.

OUTSIDE SHOOTING THREAT- Edgar senior guard Leah Davis attempts a threepoint shot in front of Wisconsin Rapids Assumption’s bench during the first half of Thurday’s sectional semifinal in Marshfield. The Wildcats beat the Royals to advance into Saturday afternoon’s sectional final which they lost to the Wabeno/Laona Rebels.STAFF PHOTO/CASEY KRAUTKRAMER

POWERING HER WAY FOR A BASKET- Edgar junior forward Maycie Yonker comes off the bench to provide valuable minutes for the Wildcats in their 38-36 win on Thursday night against Wisconsin Rapids Assumption in a WIAA Division 5 sectional semifinal at Marshfield High School.STAFF PHOTO/CASEY KRAUTKRAMER