REEDSBURG — Taking two timeouts before his team scores is never a good situation for a basketball coach.
Yet, that’s where Dave Donarski found himself when the Aquinas High School girls started their WIAA Division 3 sectional semifinal against Wisconsin Dells on the flattest of notes.
The Blugolds missed their first seven shots and turned the ball over twice on their first eight possessions, and things didn’t get much better from there as the Chiefs — ranked third in the final Bound Wisconsin/Zaleski Sports media poll — notched a 76-52 victory at Reedsburg High School on Thursday.
Aquinas (24-3) never led after surrendering the first nine points and couldn’t find a way to convert turnovers into points at any stage of the game.
The fifth-ranked Blugolds made 7 of 26 shots (26.7 percent) in the first half and were never able to recover.
Aquinas did cut what ballooned to a 27-point deficit with 11:39 left to 14 on two occasions late in the second half but could get no closer.
Sammy Davis scored 26 points for the Blugolds, who also received eight from junior Eva Willenbring.
Senior Ashiya Hopkins scored 28 for the Chiefs (27-0) and had 17 of those in the first half. Natalie Backhaus added 17.
This story will be updated.
