March 3, 2022 – Germantown, WI – Top seed Germantown hosted No. 5 Kaukauna in a WIAA Division 1 girls basketball Sectional Semifinal on Thursday night.
The game was closely contested from the beginning and more so than many professional or college games today in basketball. Neither team truly dominated any one single aspect of play and the lead changes where impossible to keep up with.
Passing was definitely a key component to each team’s success, as many passes would find shooters inside the paint in spite of heavy defensive traffic.
Kaukauna was able to gain some breathing room heading into halftime up 41-37, due to a cold streak of shooting for Germantown. Said shooting funk actually lasted into the second half and it seemed as though Kaukauna might run away with the game.
However, Germantown would go a run powered by junior Kamorea “KK” Arnold that brought the game to a 58-58 stalemate that led to each team jockeying for the lead for the remaining 14 minutes of the game.
Three-point leads were as high as each team could muster as they took turns trading fouls, shots, and turnovers down the stretch.
In the end, clutch baskets from Arnold and senior Emilie Wizner sealed the win for Germantown 90-87, earning them a second consecutive trip to the WIAA Division 1 Sectional Finals.
Both Arnold and Wizner had amazing performances putting 39 and 26 points respectively. Wizner spoke about ending last season as State Champions as a high note in her junior season, but it created a desire in her to end her career at Germantown on top again.
Opponents like Kaukauna definitely have not made that goal easy, but with support from her teammates like fellow senior Gretchen McNeal, it is not impossible to achieve either.
“She (Gretchen) is super physical, even in practice and helps us finish with contact,” Wizner said. “Gretchen is really good at boxing out opponents and has helped me step up my game.”
Wizner will be attending Carroll University post-high school to continue playing basketball and pursue a degree in education.
Kaukauna had a strong team effort led by junior Alana Zarneke and freshman Addison Baumgart with 23 and 21 points respectively.
No. 1 Germantown will play No. 3 De Pere at Sheboygan North High School on Saturday, March 5 at 7 p.m. for a Division 1 Sectional championship.
Other local results:
Division 3:
No. 1 Waupun def. No. 2 Kewaskum, 50-47
No. 3 Dominican def. No. 1 Kettle Moraine Lutheran, 38-33