MADISON — Four girls’ basketball teams from the Kaukauna Community News readership area will compete over three days this week in Ashwaubenon for state titles
Kimberly, Appleton East, Xavier, St. Mary Catholic advanced after winning their sectionals last weekend.
Fox Crossing’s St. Mary Catholic and Appleton’s Xavier play Thursday, while the rest have their first-round games Friday.
Top-seeded Kimberly qualifies for the State Tournament for the 12th time and for the first time since 2019. The Papermakers made five appearances in the 1980s and four in the 1990s. They have won four State titles. Kimberly won the Class A championship in 1987 and the Class B title in 1989. They added Division 2 titles in 1996 and 1998. They also finished runner-up in Class A in 1982 and in Division 2 in 1997.
It’s the fourth overall appearance at State for fourth-seeded Appleton East and the program’s first since 2022 when the Patriots finished runner-up. The Patriots’ first two experiences resulted in losses in the quarterfinals in both 1990 and 1998.
Xavier, last year’s runner-up in Division 3, is the fourth seed in the bracket. The Hawks are appearing in their fourth State Tournament overall. The first two experiences came in succession in 2015 and 2016. Their most notable of the two appearances was the runner-up finish in 2015.
Second-seeded St. Mary Catholic will make its third State appearance and the Zephyrs’ first since two consecutive experiences in 2008-09. They advanced to the championship game in both those appearances, winning the title in 2009 and finishing runner-up in 2008. As a former member of WISAA, St. Mary Central, as it was previously named, won the Division 2 title in 1998.
THE STATE TOURNAMENT: The 49th Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Girls Basketball State Tournament will take place Thursday-Saturday, March 13-15, at the Resch Center in Green Bay, Wis.
PURCHASING TICKETS: Ticket price for the tourney is $11 per session when purchased at the Resch Center. Tickets for the tournament will be available for purchase online at the Ticket Star website or by calling Ticket Star at 1-800-895-0071. Tickets can also be obtained through a link on the WIAA website at: https://ticketstar.evenue.net/events/WIAA1.
STATE TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE: The single elimination tournament features a five-division format with four teams qualifying in each of the five divisions.
Thursday, March 13
Division 3
#1 Elk Mound (26-1) vs. #4 Xavier (18-10) – 1:35 p.m.
#2 Oostburg (26-2) vs. #3 Laconia (24-4)*
Division 4
#1 The Prairie School (26-2) vs. #4 Cuba City (23-5) – 6:35 p.m.
#2 St. Mary Catholic (25-3) vs. #3 Durand-Arkansaw (23-5)*
Friday, March 14
Division 5
#1 Assumption (27-1) vs. #4 Owen-Withee (25-4) – 9:05 a.m.
#2 Lourdes Academy (24-5) vs. #3 Barneveld (21-7)*
Division 2
#1 Edgewood (27-1) vs. #4 Rice Lake (23-5) – 1:35 p.m.
#2 Wauwatosa East (27-1) vs. #3 West De Pere (23-5)*
Division 1
#1 Kimberly (27-1) vs. #4 Appleton East (19-8) – 6:35 p.m.
#2 Arrowhead (25-3) vs. #3 Muskego (24-4)*
Saturday, March 15
3-Point Challenge – 9:30 a.m.
Division 5 Championship Game – 11:05 a.m.
Division 4 Championship Game*
Division 3 Championship Game*
Division 2 Championship Game – 6:35 p.m.
Division 1 Championship Game*
*Note: Subsequent games of each session will begin approximately 15 minutes following the previous game.
STATE TOURNAMENT ON THE AIR: The State Tournament will be televised live on WKOW Madison, WAOW Wausau, WXOW La Crosse, WQOW Eau Claire, WCWF in Green Bay/Fox Valley and WVTV in Milwaukee. The finals will also be streamed live on the State Television Network’s websites and on Fox11online.com. Also, download the WIAA Sports Live app for live streaming video, scores, highlights and more about the WIAA State Basketball Tournaments. Live coverage of the tournaments on iOS or Android phones and tablets are also available on the app.
POST-GAME MEDIA CONFERENCES STREAMED: The post-game media conferences will be shown live without subscription on the WIAA.tv portal of the NF
Paid partnership with Matt's Lawn Rolling and Aeration>
