Anything is possible at state tournament time.
Just ask the Shiocton girls’ basketball team.
One day after handing Iola-Scandinavia a 49-48 triple-overtime loss in a WIAA Division 4 regional semifinal, the Chiefs knocked off top-seeded Bonduel 57-45 Feb. 28, a team that entered tournament play with only one loss.
I-S also opened tournament play Feb. 24 with a 53-30 home win over Manawa.
Shiocton 49, I-S 48 (3 OT)
SHIOCTON – The T-Birds and Chiefs combined for 65 fouls, 85 attempted free throws, 47 turnovers and nine players that fouled out.
I-S led 4-3 after one quarter, but the Chiefs outscored the visitors 8-7 in the second quarters and the teams headed to the locker room at halftime tied at 11-11.
Shiocton took a 20-16 lead into the fourth quarter, but the T-Birds outscored the home team 16-12 in the fourth quarter and the teams headed into overtime knotted at 32-32.
The T-Birds held a three-point lead late in the first overtime, but Shiocton’s Carmen McCarthy hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to tie the game at 39-39.
Both teams scored five points in the second overtime, but the Chiefs had a 4-3 advantage in the third extra period.
Kylie Johnson scored a game-high 24 points in her final basketball game in a T-Bird uniform, but the Chiefs held Brooke Phillips and Leighten Fischer, the team’s top two scorers, to six and five points, respectively.
Johnson connected on all four of her team’s three-pointers and she also had three steals. Fischer finished with 15 rebounds, 13 of them defensive; Phillips added six steals and five rebounds; and Baleigh Fuhs grabbed eight rebounds.
Corrie McCarthy led the Chiefs with 10 points,
The Chiefs will now face Algoma at 7 tonight (Thursday, March 5) in a sectional semifinal at Seymour. The winner will face Marathon or Crandon at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 7, in Antigo.
I-S 53, Manawa 30
IOLA – A 34-14 advantage over the second and third quarters helped the T-Birds pull away from the Wolves in the teams’ third meeting in just over a month.
I-S led 9-4 after one quarter, 26-12 at halftime and 43-18 after three quarters.
Manawa turned the ball over 11 times in the first quarter while hitting only one of its first 12 shots as I-S used a combination of a full-court press and half-court trap.
The T-Birds also struggled early, hitting only one of eight free throws to start the game.
I-S opened the second quarter with a 9-0 run that included Johnson’s three-pointer and held an 18-9 lead with 5:35 left in the first half. Jane Oligney drained another three-pointer as the T-Birds finished the half with an 8-2 run.
Manawa’s Autumn Ferg went to the bench with 6:40 left in the third after picking up her fourth foul and the T-Birds took advantage by finishing the quarter with a 13-2 run that included threes from Fischer and Oligney.
With just over four minutes to play, Manawa coach Patrick Collins plugged the plug on his starters and played the underclassmen.
He said he hopes his returning players work hard this off-season to improve the program for 2015-16.
The Wolves finished 3-20 this season.
The T-Birds forced 37 Manawa turnovers, including 24 steals.
Fischer led I-S with 21 points, six rebounds and six steals, while Phillips added 13 points, nine rebounds, seven steals and four assists.
Ashlee Strebe led Manawa with seven points.
• Correspondent Mike Frazier contributed to this report.
