State Girls Basketball: Notre Dame wins, New London's streak ends in D-2 semifinals
By: Nick Goddard
Updated: March 16, 2013
Notre Dame (21-6) used a strong first half to build an insurmountable lead and move into the Division 2 championship final with 61-35 win over Milton (19-8).
Already leading at the end of the first period 17-7, the Tritons dominated the second quarter, outscoring the Red Hawks 19-2 in the period to lead 36-9 at the half. The Triton defense held the Red Hawks to 2-of-21 shooting in the half and forced eight turnovers.
The Tritons continued to impose its will in the second half, building a 34-point cushion in the third quarter and as much as a 39-point advantage in the fourth quarter before the Red Hawks closed the gap when the result was no longer in doubt.
The Tritons' balanced scoring attack was led by Allison LeClaire with 14 points. Eliza Campbell and Brianna Byrne chipped in with 13 and 12 points, respectively. Milton was led by Elizabeth Westrick's 16. points.
Also in Division 2, the New London Bulldogs saw their 68-game win streak come to an end on Friday at the hands of the team they defeated last year for the state championship.
New Berlin Eisenhower (25-2) ended the run of two-time defending champion New London (26-1) with a thrilling 48-47 victory in a rematch of the teams that met in last year's State final.
Erin Ganzke made a lay-up, was fouled, and converted a free throw with seven seconds remaining to give the Lions the one-point advantage. A last-second attempt by the Bulldogs off an in-bounds play caromed off to end the game.
The Bulldogs went on a 10-0 run in the first period to gain the early advantage and led 14-7 at the end of the quarter. New London added to its lead in the second quarter and led by 15 at the 5:50 mark. The Lions battled back with a 13-0 run to end the half and go into the locker room trailing 21-19.
Both teams struggled to put the ball in the basket early in the second half. New Berlin Eisenhower scored the first four points of to take a 23-21 lead. Neither team took control of the game in the third quarter with no lead greater than two points. That trend continued throughout the fourth period as the lead went back-and-forth. The lead changed hands 11 times in the game with an additional 10 ties.
Jenny Weiland led the Lions with 17 points and Ganzke added 16. New London was led by Brenna Heise with 19 points
