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Posted March 2, 2008

Girls basketball: Assumption shocks Newman
By Steve Pilz
For the Central Wisconsin Sunday
AUBURNDALE -- Just a week ago the Wisconsin Rapids Assumption girls lost by 13 points to Wausau Newman in the Marawood Conference first-place playoff game.

How quickly things change.

Saturday, the Royals upended Newman 46-32 to capture the Division 4 regional championship and move into the WIAA sectionals.

The Royals will meet Menasha St. Mary Central on Thursday at New London.

Assumption showed no ill effects from the Marawood playoff game as it systematically ground down Newman, making it difficult for the Cardinals to get good shots, let alone make them.

Newman started out in the lead, but that was short-lived as the Royals came back to take a 16-11 lead at the end of the first quarter behind the scoring of Liz Sigler, who had eight first-quarter points.

"I knew I'd be guarding Val (Schuster) and Val and I have been friends, and have know each other since we were like 12," said Sigler, who led the Royals with 13 points. "It's weird to think it's our last game against each other. Our team came out pumped up and we just wanted to keep playing and that's what we did."

Assumption continued its fine shooting, going 5 for 7 in the second period and increasing the lead to 27-19 at intermission.

Meanwhile it was the Royals' defense that held the Cardinals to 9 of 29 (31 percent) shooting in the first half.

The Cardinals could put just make a small chink in the Royals' armor in the third when senior guard Kelsey Finke hit a 3-pointer with 37 seconds left in the quarter and followed it up with a leaning jumper in the lane as the buzzer sounded to end the period. That brought the Cards back to within four and they showed some signs of life.

"The kids have come a long way," said Royals coach Joe Birkhauser. "We always felt we could compete with any team. Going against Wausau Newman and Tom Weinkuaf. That's a heck of a program. You've got to be prepared. I think we believe we were prepared. All the credit goes to the kids. They busted their butt and we're happy."

Whatever momentum the Cardinals may have garnered from the third period was short lived as the Royals turned up the defensive intensity and forced three turnovers early in the fourth.

And when Jada Straub nailed a 3-pointer at the five-minute mark, the Royals had upped their lead to 37-28.

That was as close as the Cardinals would come.

"I think it was amazing," said Assumption's Hannnah Osowski, who had 11 points. "We finally bonded as a team and came totally together this year. Everybody's working hard the whole time and we just try to keep the intensity up the whole 32 minutes."

Val Schuster led the Cardinals with 11 points.

Royals 46 Cardinals 32

Newman 11 8 7 6 -- 32

Assumption 16 11 5 14 -- 46

NEWMAN (32): Abby Brost 5, Ashley Kafka 2, Emily Schuster 2, Val Schuster 11, Kelsey Finke 6, Taylor Thomas 6.

ASSUMPTION (46): Lizzy Slovensky 7, Jada Straub 7, Hannah Osowski 11, Liz Sigler 13, Emily Heeg 6, Anna Kinzel 2.

3-pointers: Newman 2 (Brost, Finke) Assumption 2 (Sigler, Straub).

Records: Newman 20-3; Assumption 21-2.