This story is sponsored by: Valley Communities Credit Union
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
STRATFORD – The Stratford girls basketball team showed early that it wasn’t going to be pushed around on its home court, especially not in the playoffs.
The Tigers jumped out to a 12-2 lead in the first 4½ minutes and never let up, blowing past Three Lakes 57-32 to win their WIAA Division 4 regional quarterfinal game Tuesday night at Stratford High School.
Five different Tigers scored in the 12-2 run to open the game.
Stratford jumped ahead 17-3 after baskets by Danielle Leffel and Sara Griesbach, and led 19-6 after the first quarter.
The Tigers continued to build their lead in the second quarter, using a 12-2 run over the middle 5 minutes that included steals and layups by Haley Austin and Hannah Schmitt.
The run ended with a basket by Macy Busche and put Stratford up 34-11. It led 34-14 at halftime.
“We worked hard all week and came down to doing the smart, little things that make the team work together,” said Griesbach, who hit a pair of 3-pointers and led Stratford with 12 points. “
The Tigers’ lead was never less than 18 in the second half, and they used another 12-2 run in the fourth quarter to push it back to 26 with 3 minutes left.
“I think the girls were working together as a team,” Stratford coach Betsy Miller said. “There was hustle from start to the end.”
Stratford was able to overcome 22 turnovers and committing 21 fouls with solid defense (forced 24 turnovers) and Three Lakes missing 18 of its 28 free-throw attempts.
“Some of those turnovers were unforced,” Miller said. “Maybe some of it is being a younger team (only one senior) and knowing when to slow down, when to pull back and when to work the clock. It’s something we continue to work on and we better be ready Friday night.”
No. 4 seed Stratford (11-12) moves on to a regional semifinal at No. 1 seed Marathon (15-7) on Friday. The Tigers split their two regular-season meetings with Marathon, winning the last matchup 40-37 on the road Feb. 3.
That win has given the Tigers the needed confidence to go on the road in the playoffs and not be intimidated.
“It feels really good that we have beat them before and that we can finish in the end,” Griesbach said.
Tigers 57, Blue Jays 32
Three Lakes 6 8 8 10 – 32
Stratford 19 15 10 13 – 57
THREE LAKES (32): Brooke Welch 0-0 0-0 0, Natalie Miller 0-3 0-1 0, Peyton Radaj 2-3 5-10 9, Lindsay Schoff 1-1 4-8 6, Tiffany Krusick 0-6 1-4 1, Haley Mohr 3-7 0-2 6, Amy Levandoski 0-3 0-0 0, Lexy Schneider 2-7 0-2 4, Zana Lorbetske 1-3 0-0 2, Angela Krupnow 2-7 0-1 4, Leah Mohr 0-1 0-0 0. FG: 11-41. FT: 10-28. 3-pointers: 0-4 (Krupnow 0-2, Mohr 0-1, Krusick 0-1). Rebounds: 29 (Lorbetske 6). Turnovers: 24. Total fouls: 18. Fouled out: none. Record: 10-13.
STRATFORD (57): Macy Busche 1-3 1-4 3, Danielle Leffel 1-3 0-0 2, Rachel Ludwig 4-4 0-0 8, Brooke Schultze 1-4 1-2 3, Kesley Boeger 0-0 0-0 0, Sara Griesbach 4-9 2-4 12, Carrie Stroetz 1-4 1-2 3, Amanda Rindfleisch 0-1 0-0 0, Jenessa Denfeld 0-0 6-6 6, Haley Austin 3-11 2-2 9, Hannah Schmitt 4-6 2-2 11. FG: 19-45. FT: 15-22. 3-pointers: 4-9 (Griesbach 2-5, Schmitt 1-1, Austin 1-3). Rebounds: 38 (Schmitt 6). Turnovers: 22. Total fouls: 21. Fouled out: none. Record: 11-12.