This story is sponsored by Norm E Lane Farm
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MARSHFIELD – Marshfield Columbus Catholic girls basketball coach Darin Green summed up the Dons’ 52-16 loss at Spencer on Feb. 7 this way:
“They understand their weaknesses and the things they have to work on. They’re a pretty good group. They get out there and play hard again and try again. I don’t ever see their heads down and they’ll continue to work hard and get ready.
“Hopefully we can continue to improve and make a push come playoff time.”
It took another three weeks or so after that loss to Spencer, but the Dons have suddenly turned things around.
After finishing the regular season with a 6-15 record that included seven losses in its last eight games – four by 30 points or more, and its only win during that stretch coming against a winless Granton team – Columbus Catholic has made the biggest surprise run in the WIAA girls basketball playoffs.
The Dons (9-15) will take on Cloverbelt Conference rival Owen-Withee (22-3) in a WIAA Division 5 sectional semifinal at 7 p.m. Thursday at Abbotsford High School.
The winner moves on to a sectional final at Spooner on Saturday night against the winner of Northwood (19-5) and Washburn (20-5).
Columbus is one of just three teams with a losing record still alive in the girls basketball playoffs. Green Bay NEW Lutheran (10-13) and Hilbert (11-14) are also alive in the Division 5 sectional.
Green said one word best describes the Dons’ turnaround – confidence.
“During the second half of the season, we’d practice well and go into the game and it wouldn’t transfer over,” Green said. “It was so frustrating. I don’t know if it was nerves or lack of confidence. I think the team has finally gotten over the nerves and have played so much better.”
The Dons play without a senior on their roster – the only senior, Abby Gotz, went down with a knee injury in December. Junior Liz Manlick leads the team in scoring and just about every other statistic, but it’s been the play of the rest of the team that has made this postseason run possible, Green said. The ability for Manlick to trust her teammates, and her teammates having confidence in themselves and not always deferring to Manlick has been the biggest key to the recent success.
The Dons, seeded 10th, had to go on the road throughout the playoffs, winning three games in five days last week knocking off No. 7 seed Cornell 43-35, No. 2 Lake Holcombe 57-51, and No. 6 Turtle Lake 41-37.
The nearly 600-mile combined road trip as Columbus prepared for anything.
The Dons know what’s coming with Owen-Withee, who beat them 61-20 on Dec. 9 and 73-26 on Jan. 27. The Blackhawks use a stifling full-court pressure defense and solid 3-point shooting to push around opponents. O-W has won 16 games by 29 points or more this season.
“We have to take care of the ball and we have to slow down and eliminate their fast-break points,” Green said. “We’ll have to do our best to eliminate their 3-point shots and rebound. They are huge on the offensive glass. We just have to try to make it a game and be in the game late and see what happens.”
Green said he was hoping the team would improve enough this season to take that into next year when the entire team returns. The run to the sectional was totally unexpected.
“To be honest, this is the seed I wanted,” Greens said. “I thought it gave us the best opportunity to keep on winning. I didn’t want to have to play teams that we had already played and I thought getting someone new would be an advantage, but it is a total shock.
“All you can hope with a younger team and its only senior goes down, is late in the year you are playing your best basketball. We’ve had everyone contributing and we have been balanced in scoring. We are stepping into shots with more confidence and people contribute in many ways, not just scoring.”