This story is sponsored by: High Street Salon, Spa & Travel
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MARSHFIELD – The Marshfield girls basketball team had its hand full for the first half of Saturday’s WIAA Division 1 regional final, but like it did in the regional semifinal the night before, the Tigers turned to the hot shooting of a freshman to pull on a win.
Freshman guard Caitlin Michaelis, who made five 3-pointers and scored 19 points in Marshfield’s win over Eau Claire Memorial on Friday, bested those numbers with six 3-pointers and a game-high 21 points as the Tigers rolled past Superior 62-40 to capture the school’s 10th straight regional championship.
A 3-pointer by Leah Ripp in the closing seconds of the first half gave Marshfield a 26-25 lead at the break and that momentum carried over into the third quarter when the Tigers scored the first 10 points – six on a pair of 3-pointers by Michaelis and four by center Courtney Bauer – to open up a double-digit lead. Marshfield led by at least nine the rest of the way.
Michaelis hit four of her six 3-pointers in the third quarter as the Tigers (19-5) outscored Superior (16-7) 19-7 in the period.
“I’m really pumped up going into this and I’m really ready for these big games,” Caitlin Michaelis said. “At the beginning of the season, when Taylor (Varsho) was hurt, I knew I wouldn’t be able to blend in, I would have to step up and do really good for us. I did really good in the beginning and when Taylor came back she was doing great. Toward the end I was getting really pumped up for this. Everyone’s playing together as a team. It’s just perfect.”
Marshfield moves on to a Division 1 sectional semifinal against No. 1 seed Chippewa Falls (23-1) on Thursday night at Wausau West High School. The winner moves on to play either Oshkosh West (18-6) or Appleton North (18-6) in a sectional final next Saturday afternoon at Wisconsin Rapids. Oshkosh West and Appleton North upset Appleton East and Stevens Point, respectively. Both East and Point were conference champions in the regular season.
“We have to have a good week of practice, work hard and work together and keep doing what we’re doing,” Michaelis said. “For four games we have to believe in each other and trust each other – just work together. Our only goal is to win.”
The game was tight throughout the first half, with neither team leading by more than three points.
Marshfield led 15-13 at the end of the first period after four points by Tiffany Stargardt in the final 45 seconds.
Michaelis hit a 3-pointer in the opening minute of the second quarter before the Spartans went on a 6-0 run to grab a 19-18 advantage.
A 3-pointer by Darian Molter and another by Ripp helped the Tigers grab a one-point lead going into halftime.
Marshfield was just 10 of 27 shooting and committed eight turnovers in the first half.
“Against a zone there’s going to be wide-open looks,” Marshfield coach Heidi Michaelis said. “In the first half we didn’t do a good job of finding those. We were too rushed. We talked about it at halftime about taking our time and finding those openings out there.”
The hot-shooting, coupled with fierce defensive pressure, helped Marshfield pull away in the third.
The Tigers put the game away with an 11-0 run in the fourth quarter. Michaelis started it with her sixth 3-pointer, which was just one of the single-game school record of seven set twice by Taylor Varsho, and the Tigers made 6 of 8 free throws to open up a 56-33 lead.
Varsho, the team’s leading scorer at 18.9 points per game, was held to nine points on 3 of 7 shooting, only her third game in single figures this season. Coach Michaelis said Superior clamped down on the Tigers’ senior, but she was still able to impact the game with her passing and ball-handling.
“I thought Taylor was a great leader out there in the second half,” Michaelis said. “She got Caitlin a ton of open looks. The attention is always going to be on Taylor and with that it means other people are going to be wide open. If you step up and make shots, that makes us so much better.
“You don’t always have to score to be that great senior leader that you need and Taylor definitely stepped up in the second half.”
Tigers 62, Spartans 40
Superior 13 12 7 8 – 40
Marshfield 15 11 19 17 – 62
SUPERIOR (40): Abby Clemons 2-2 2-2 6, Raya Kosey 1-4 0-0 2, Alison Wainionpaa 1-5 1-2 3, Ally Gotelaere 1-2 0-0 3, Jessica Lindstrom 2-7 3-6 7, Kallyn Lagro 0-1 0-1 0, Dani Magdzas 1-3 0-2 2, Abby O’Shaughnessy 0-1 0-0 0, Hailey Kontny 8-19 1-3 17. FG: 16-44. FT: 7-16. 3-pointers: 1-5 (Gotelaere 1-2, Lindstrom 0-1, Magdzas 0-1, Kontny 0-1). Rebounds: 29 (Lindstrom 11). Turnovers: 18. Fouls: 21. Fouled out: Kosey. Record: 16-7.
MARSHFIELD (62): Ellie Kummer 0-1 0-0 0, Taylor Varsho 3-7 3-7 9, Tiffany Stargardt 1-5 2-2 4, Darian Molter 3-9 3-4 11, Caitlin Michaelis 7-12 1-2 21, Sara Fuller 1-1 0-0 2, Leah Ripp 1-2 0-0 3, Mikayla Zimmerman 0-0 0-0 0, Courtney Bauer 3-4 0-0 6, Ellie Fehrenbach 1-3 4-6 6. FG: 20-44. FT: 13-21. 3-pointers: 9-19 (Michaelis 6-11, Molter 2-3, Ripp 1-2, Varsho 0-2, Kummer 0-1). Rebounds: 29 (Stargardt 10, Bauer 6). Turnovers: 16. Fouls: 14. Fouled out: none. Record: 19-5.