Cold shooting in Merrill
By Casey Krautkramer
It’s been an unseasonably warm winter in Wisconsin but on Thursday both the Athens and Pittsville varsity girls basketball teams were cold shooting from the floor in their WIAA Division 5 sectional semifinal in the Merrill Senior High School gym.
Athens only made 28 percent of its total shots taken while Pittsville shot the basketball at only 23 percent. The difference in the Panthers beating the Bluejays, 4537, was they shot the ball better from the three-point line. Pittsville made nine of 29 three-point attempts for 31 percent shooting while Athens only made two of 16 three-point attempts for a low 13 percent.
Early on it seemed like neither team wanted to take control of the game. Pittsville’s full-court press led to many Athens turnovers but the Panthers were also turning the ball over at the same rate. it took both teams several minutes to settle down and start making shots.
Pittsville junior guard Reese Grimm, who is one of the best three-point shooters in Division 5, drained a pair of treys to give the Panthers a 6-0 lead. While Athens’ typical scorers like Jazelle Hartwig and Sophia Coker were having trouble making shots, sophomore Sy’Rih Hartwig took it upon herself to keep the Bluejays in the game. Sy’Rih Hartwig scored the team’s first five points on a made baseline jumper and corner three pointer. Athens was still down, 14-5, to Pittsville.
Both teams then kept turning the ball over until Athens junior guard Danica Diethelm’s basket and senior post player Sophia Coker’s pair of made free throws cut Pittsville’s lead to 14-9. Jazelle Hartwig stole the ball and made a layup with just over one minute left before halftime. Diethelm’s bank three pointer and Jazelle Hartwig’s pair of made free throws brought Athens within one point of Pittsville at the break.
Athens continued the momentum it had at the end of the first half into the start of the second half. Pittsvillle senior Natasha Losievski’s pair of made free throws gave the Panthers a 19-16 advantage but then the Bluejays went on a long run. Sophia Coker’s basket brought the team within one point of the Panthers and then Diethelm’s rebound cutback gave Athens its first lead of the game at 20-19 nearly two minutes into the second half.
Sophia Coker got the Athens crowd pumped up by making a basket while getting fouled. She also made the free throw to give Athens a 23-19 advantage. Jazelle
See GRILS SECTIONAL/ page 11
POWERING OVER THE PANTHERS- Athens senior Sophia Coker (11) uses her height advantage to rise up for a shot attempt against Pittsville during the second half of Thursday’s 45-37 loss in the WIAA Division 5 sectional semifinal at Merrill Senior High School. Other Athens players next to Sophia Coker are junior Danica Diethelm (13) and sophomore Ava Ford.
STAFF PHOTO/CASEY KRAUTKRAMER Girls sectional
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Hartwig’s layup extended the Bluejays’ lead to six points and forced Pittsville head coach Jason Knott to call a timeout. Diethelm drained a three pointer to give Athens a 28-19 advantage. Pittsville made a basket but Sy’Ri Hartwig’s responded with her own bucket. Jazelle Hartwig stole the ball and passed it ahead to Diethelm for a layup that gave Athens its largest lead of the game of 11 points with just over 11 minutes left in the game.
Grimm then scored 11 straight points, including three treys, to tie the game at 32 points with just over six minutes remaining. Pittsville converted bonus free throws down the stretch to eventually seal the victory.
Diethelm led Athens with 12 points and Sy’Rih Hartwig added 11. Sophia Coker paced the Bluejays with 14 rebounds and two blocks. Jazelle Hartwig led the team with four steals and three assists. Athens concluded this season with an 18-10 record. Pittsville lost to Lena, 66-57, in the sectional championship on Saturday in Antigo. Pittsville ends its season with a 24-5 record while Lena, 27-2, advances to the state tournament.
Athens head coach Kyncaide Keefe was frustrated after the sectional semifinal loss because the Bluejays didn’t play their best game against Pittsville like they did in beating the Stevens Point Pacelli Cardinals, 56-52, in the regional championship.
“Truly out of the 36 minutes in the game our shots maybe fell for five of them,” she said. “With our shots not falling, we were still able to keep it a one-point game at halftime. It’s tough to win games when your shots aren’t falling.”
She can’t thank enough her team’s four seniors including twin sisters Sophia and Sydney Coker, Jazelle Hartwig and Addison Lavicka for all they’ve accomplished in their four years at Athens.
“They’ve done their job,” Keefe said. “They aren’t going to say they are proud of how this season ended but the legacy they’ve left behind is unmatched.”
Keefe is sad to watch the Athens seniors play their final basketball game but she’s also anxious to see what the underclassmen can accomplish in the future.
“They’ve learned so much the past few years and they are all leaders internally so I’m excited to see what they do with their next few years,” she said. “Breanna Sheahan has just been absorbing everything that she can and obviously Ava, Sy’ Rih, Danica and Bailey have all kind of been on court presences but they definitely have more to offer in the future.”
Whenever a team competes in a sectional playoff game, it brings out the entire community of supporters including young fans which someday hope they’ll someday also experience playing in sectionals.
“I remember as a little girl showing up to sectional softball games and dreaming in my head what I was going to do when I was in this game someday,” Keefe said. “The little girls on the basketball bleachers are just waiting to get their chance in the future. I think our players really showed up and gave their full effort for those little girls and for themselves.”
BASKETBALL FEVER- Young Athens Bluejays basketball fan, Megan den Otter, cheers on her beloved team while sitting on her mother Jenni den Otter’s lap during Thursday’s WIAA Division 5 sectional semifinal in Merrill.
STAFF PHOTO/CASEY KRAUTKRAMER
