One game short of state

Athens falls to Three Lakes in battle of ‘Jays

The Athens varsity girls basketball team couldn’t dig itself out of a large deficit against Three Lakes in the WIAA Division 5 sectional championship on Saturday like it did against Suring in the sectional semifinal on Thursday.

Athens found itself down, 17-2, against Suring but the Bluejays fought back to take a threepoint lead at halftime. The Bluejays rode this momentum into the second half for a 62-52 sectional semifinal road win against the Eagles, which ended their season with an 18-7 record.

On Saturday, Athens dug itself into a much larger hole and was losing, 36-12, to Three Lakes with three minutes left in the first half. Athens enjoyed a bit of a comeback but it was still down, 39-21, at halftime. The large deficit proved to be too much for Athens to overcome in a 73-30 sectional championship road loss in the battle of two schools each sporting the Bluejays mascot.

Athens attempted to advance to the state championships for the first time in 30 years, but instead it was Three Lakes qualifying for state for the first time in 22 years. Athens concludes this season with a 11-10 record, while Three Lakes improves to 19-5 and will play against undefeated Black Hawk in a Division 5 state championship semifinal game this Thursday morning, Feb. 25, at the La Crosse Center.

Three Lakes simply had too much firepower against Athens. Seniors Sydney Lurvey and Taylor Kolling have both scored 2,000 points in their high school careers and senior Emily Fink will run track and field for the Army Black Knights next year.

Both of Athens’ sectional opponents, Suring and Three Lakes, applied constant full-court pressure during the entire games. Athens thus committed costly turnovers against the fullcourt press against both the Eagles and Bluejays, but its mistakes proved to be even costlier against a much better Three Lakes squad. Athens head coach Kyncaide Keefe’s squad needed a much faster start in the sectional title game but it didn’t happen.

“We knew coming into the sectional championship against Three Lakes that we couldn’t dig ourselves into a hole like we did in the sectional semifinal against Spring, and that’s what we did again,” Keefe said. “You can’t dig out of a hole that big every time. We got lucky to beat Suring despite having a lot of turnovers but we knew it wasn’t going to happen again against Three Lakes.”

Athens committed three straight turnovers against Suring midway through the first half in the sectional semifinal. Once the Bluejays calmed down from their early-game jitters, then they kept building confidence with each shot made.

Although Athens wasn’t playing well against Suring early on, the Bluejays were still getting the Eagles to foul them. Athens players were already able to shoot bonus free throws with six-and-a-half minutes left before halftime, and they were in the double bonus with just over four minutes left before the break.

Junior Elizabeth Van Rixel’s offensive rebound putback gave the Bluejays their first lead of the game, 23-22, against the Eagles with one minute, 32 seconds remaining before halftime. Suring senior guard Kylee Stelzer’s three pointer tied the game at 25 points apiece but Athens retook the lead on freshman Jazelle Hartwig’s one of two made double bonus free throws and on freshman Addison Lavicka’s steal and layup to give the Bluejays a 28-25 halftime advantage.

Athens players quickly ran into the locker room, and they were making a lot of noise inside of it because they were so pumped up after coming all the way back from a 15-point deficit against Suring to take a halftime lead.

Suring tied the game a few times early in the second half, until Athens took the lead for good on back-to-back three pointers by senior guard Kaitlyn Riehle and Hartwig. Junior McKennzie Schug’s offensive rebound putback gave Athens a 38-31 lead and sent the Bluejays’ bench into a frenzy of loud cheers and high fives.

Athens utilized a balanced scoring attack in its victory against Suring. Hartwig led the Bluejays with 18 points and Schug added 15. Lavicka contributed nine points, Kaitlyn Riehle eight, Sophia Coker seven and Van Rixel five. Schug paced the team with 13 rebounds and three assists. Hartwig led the Bluejays with four steals, while Lavicka had three and Van Rixel and Schug collected two apiece.

Kaitlyn Riehle relished the opportunity to play with her younger sister, junior Cassandra Riehle, in the sectional semifinal and championship games. They are the daughters of Randy and Barb Riehle of Athens.

“It’s just unbelievable,” Kaitlyn said after the team’s comeback victory against Suring. “I can’t thank my sister enough because she’s always pushing me through all my ups and downs, and to play alongside her is just awesome.”

Athens discovered its sectional finals opponent, Three Lakes, presented a much tougher challenge than Suring. Early on against Three Lakes, any time Athens would score a basket Taylor Kolling would answer with a made three pointer. The raucous Three Lakes student cheering section didn’t help matters. Three Lakes outscored Athens, 34-9, in the second half to obtain the big win. No Athens player reached double-digit points against Three Lakes. Sophia Coker led Athens with seven points.

Coach Keefe thanked the team’s seniors, Kaitlyn Riehle and Hattie Nowacki, for their strong leadership. Athens has a promising future with five of its top six players returning next season. Coach Keefe had a pointed message for her younger players in the locker room after the team’s defeat to Three Lakes.

“I told them to keep the fire in their hearts and let it hurt, and just remember what it feels like to get this far and lose and not let it ever happen again,” she said. “It’s good we are such a young team and it’s exciting to see what we can do from here.”

SECTIONAL TITLE GAME EXPERIENCE- The Athens varsity girls basketball team had difficulty beating Three Lakes in the WIAA Division 5 sectional championship game on Saturday night in Three Lakes, but Athens’ younger players like freshman guard Addison Lavicka (2) gained experience playing in a high pressure contest.STAFF PHOTO/CASEY KRAUTKRAMER

EMOTIONAL SECTIONAL SEMIFINAL WIN- Athens sophomore guard Celina Ellenbecker (4) reacts to her junior teammate, center McKennzie Schug, working hard in the post to get fouled and go to the free throw line in the second half of the team’s 65-52 road victory against Suring in the WIAA Division 5 sectional semifinal game on Thursday night. Her senior teammate, Hattie Nowacki, claps hands with sophomore guard Addyson Zettler.STAFF PHOTOS/CASEY KRAUTKRAMER

FRESHMAN IN THE CLUTCH- Bluejays freshman forward Jazelle Hartwig (5) scored some big baskets to help her team come back from an early deficit to beat Suring in the sectional semifinal game on Thursday.

BOUND AND DETERMINED- Athens junior center McKennzie Schug muscles her way to the basketball against Three Lakes in the sectional title game on Saturdaynight.