WISCONSIN DELLS — It was as unlikely of a comeback that could be imagined, but Cuba City High School senior Ella Vosberg wasn’t about to give Aquinas the storied ending it was chasing.
The Blugolds allowed 21 of the first 25 points of the game before finding their rhythm and reeling the Cubans back in. They even took the lead briefly, but Cuba City’s veteran core fought off the challenge for a 47-43 victory in a WIAA Division 4 sectional final at Wisconsin Dells on Saturday.
Aquinas had the ball with a chance to take the lead late, but the Cubans made it pay for the missed shot, and Vosberg’s two free throws with 9.6 seconds for the final four-point lead spoiled the Blugolds’ quest for a spot in the state tournament next week.
Aquinas (23-5) recovered from a disastrous start against an opponent that was a state runner-up a year ago and set gave itself a chance to get back to the Resch Center.
“I liked our resiliency and how we clawed back and got to within four, within two and tied it,” Aquinas coach Dave Donarski said. “But it takes a lot of energy to do that, and we just didn’t have our best stuff.
“We didn’t shoot it well and just rushed too many shots inside, more throwing it than shooting it.”
After making just 1 of their first 16 shots and finding themselves in a 21-4 hole, the Blugolds finally built on some of the things they were actually doing well early. Despite the huge deficit to start the game, Aquinas was getting deflections and turnovers and rebounding the way it needed to against the Cubans (23-5).
But without scoring, they couldn’t set up the kind of trap and ball pressure they wanted to implement.
Junior Sammy Davis finished with 16 points and 19 rebounds, and sophomore Ava Fernholz scored 13 points and blocked two shots, but the Blugolds made just 18 of 59 shots and 1 of 14 attempts from the 3-point line.
Sophomore Olivia Passehl scored 22 points in a sectional semifinal win over Neillsville but couldn’t get a shot off until 10 minutes into the game. Davis, the team’s top scorer who had 20 in the win over Neillsville, didn’t make her first shot until 2:34 remained in the first half.
Aquinas, however, scored 15 of the final 17 points in the first half to get within 23-19 and didn’t go away in the second half.
Two Fernholz free throws tied the game at 41 with 3:29 left, and she followed that with a runner in the lane for a 43-41 lead 47 seconds later.
Ashley Rowe’s 3-pointer from the right corner was huge for the Cubans when it gave them a 45-41 lead with 1:45 left.
The Blugolds missed a couple of free throws on one possession, an open look at a 3-pointer on another and turned the ball over with 11.9 seconds to go on their final possession while within two points.
“We didn’t have our best game, fell behind, and I think that’s why we couldn’t pull away in the second half,” Davis said of the comeback. “They got us early.
“We picked it up after that, but it wasn’t enough.”
