OSSEO — The Aquinas High School girls basketball did two things it had to do if it wanted a chance to beat top-seeded Neillsville in a WIAA Division 4 sectional semifinal at Osseo-Fairchild on Thursday.
The second-seeded Blugolds made open looks from the 3-point line and found a way to shut down another prolific scorer during a 53-38 victory over the Warriors.
Aquinas (23-4) made nine 3-pointers — sophomore Olivia Passehl had six of them and made four in the early part of the first half — and sophomore Ava Fernholz and senior Kathryn Savoldelli locked down Neillsville’s top two scorers for the victory.
The Blugolds play top-seeded Cuba City (22-5) from the other side of the bracket at 1:30 p.m. Saturday in Wisconsin Dells. The Cubans beat Belleville 77-46 in their semifinal on Thursday.
Fernholz and Savoldelli’s defense on Neillsville’s top scorers — Sydney Subke and Madi Davel — limited them from the 26 they collectively average to 13 on Thursday.
“We were trying to deny two kids,” Aquinas coach Dave Donarski said. “With Ava Fernholz on Subke, they got one (3-pointer) early, but then she locked her up. They tried to post her, but we got nice gap help, and she had to get rid of (the ball). We were solid contesting it.
“Kathryn was on the Davel girl, and she scored 10 but the shots she made were highly contested. That defense was the difference-maker in the game for us.”
Savoldelli’s defense was also a major factor in a 69-50 regional championship win over Bangor. She held Anna Fronk, who averaged more than 17 points per game, to five.
Subke entered with a scoring average of 15.6 points, and she finished with three. Foul trouble also entered the picture, but her opportunities were severely limited.
Foul trouble did not haunt Aquinas junior Sammy Davis, and she responded with a huge game. Davis had 20 points, 16 rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocked shots. She also hit a big 3-pointer to give Aquinas a 42-33 lead in the second half.
“I felt like it took her a few minutes to get going,” Donarski said. “But if you throw it up high in there, she can go up over everybody and get it.
“It didn’t start perfectly, but she was ready to attack in spots we wanted to, and we really executed our offensive sets.”
The Warriors trailed 29-21 at halftime, but clawed to within 37-33 with a 9-0 run. Davis responded with one basket as 7 minutes, 11 seconds remained and followed it with her 3-pointer to push the advantage back to nine.
The Blugolds maintained a safe lead the rest of the way.
Passehl made the six 3-pointers on 12 attempts and gave Aquinas just what it needed against a team dedicated to taking Davis away on the inside. She hit four early, and senior Emma Dobbins added two to open things up for Davis. Passehl finished with a team-high 22 points.
“She settled in very quickly,” Donarski said of Passehl. “She helped us establish ourselves early, and I loved her toughness. She hadn’t had fantastic games going in, but when she got a look, she was drilling it.
“They wanted to take away that inside presence, but her shooting and the two 3s from Emma helped us.”
Fernholz and Savoldelli only combined for four points — Fernholz made four free throws — but Fernholz finished with a team-high six assists, and Savoldelli played a key role as a rebounder with seven.
