Indee girls basketball season ends with regional final loss

After two close wins, the Independence/Gilmanton girls basketball team’s season came to an end with a 15-point loss in the regional final on Saturday.

The Indees began Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association play with a 41-36 win over Eleva-Strum in Gilmanton last week Tuesday. After they beat Alma Center Lincoln in Independence on Friday, the Indees had a quick turnaround to go on the road, where the third seed fell to second-seeded Royall.

Royall is ranked seventh in Division Five and will take on Dairyland Conference Small Division champions Cochrane-Fountain City in the sectional semifinal in La Crosse on Thursday. The sectional final will be played on Saturday.

The loss ended I/G’s season with a 19-8 record, the team will graduate just one senior as most of its key players were freshmen or sophomores. 

I/G 41 Eleva-Strum 36

The Cardinals had a chance with fewer than 30 seconds remaining, possession of the ball and just a three-point deficit.

The team inbounded the ball from underneath its own basket and passed around the perimeter before I/G’s Shauna Dejno reached in and knocked it out of bounds.

The Cardinals inbounded the ball again and, again, I/G’s defense caused an issue. As Avery Glenz dribbled around the perimeter, I/G’s Adison Pronschinske appeared to deflect the ball, then Arabelle Kniseley tipped it out and Nora Schank caught it on the fly.

Schank cruised down the court for a layup just before the buzzer sounded to give the Indees a five-point win.

The Cardinals had the advantage for most of the first half, jumping out to a 12-6 lead. I/G kept the game close, but weren’t able to tie the game until Schank scored to make it 21-21 with about three minutes remaining.

Kassidi Dejno gave I/G its first lead, scoring with 2:35 left in the first half before Makiyah Scow scored and Kassidi Dejno added another basket to give I/G a 27-21 lead at halftime. 

The lead grew to double digits early in the second half as Schank scored on I/G’s first possession then Scow drove to the basket for two more, making the score 31-21. A basket by Kassidi Dejno put the lead at 12. 

But the Cardinals didn’t go away. E-S scored 10 straight points to get back within two with about six minutes remaining. The teams went back and forth before a free throw and basket by Shauna Dejno put the Indees back ahead by five with 90 seconds left in the game. 

A basket by Glenz brought the Cardinals within three with 23 seconds left in the game. E-S got the ball back again when the Indees weren’t able to inbound it in time. E-S used most of the rest of the time on the clock before Schank’s steal and layup. 

Schank scored 12 points to lead the Indees, while Kassidi Dejno added 10. Maddea Brown scored 15 to lead the Cardinals, while Glenz added nine. All four of the leading scorers for both teams are freshmen. 

Independence (field goals/attempts-free throws/attempts-rebounds-fouls-points) — Kniseley 2/10-1/2-3-2-5 Pronschinske 1/9-1/2-2-2-3 Schank 3/7-6/15-10-4-12 S. Dejno 2/8-0/0-6-3-4 K. Dejno 5/11-0/0-6-2-10 Scow 3/9-0/4-4-5-7 

E-S (field goals/attempts-free throws/attempts-rebounds-fouls-points) — Glenz 3/11-1/2-11-4-9 Brown 6/16-2/6-4-0-15 Spangberg 1/4-0/0-3-1-2 Zwiefelhofer 0/2-3/4-4-5-3 Kulig 1/3-0/0-0-0-2 Skoug 0/4-0/0-3-3-0 Koxlien 2/3-0/0-1-2-5 Nordstrom 0/0-0/0-1-1-0 Gunderson 0/0-0/0-6-2-0 

I/G 45 AC Lincoln 38

The Indees trailed by a basket at halftime and went down by nine early in the second before rallying for the win.

I/G was losing 18-16 at the intermission then ACL scored the first seven points of the second half to take a 25-16 lead. The Indees began to chip away with a basket by Kniseley before free throws by Schank made it a five-point game, but the Hornets scored four straight to go back ahead by nine.

A basket on a fast break ended that ACL run. Kniseley hit a jumper before Pronschinske knocked down a three to bring I/G within two with 10 minutes left in the game. The Indees took the lead with another three by Pronschinske on the team’s next possession. 

The teams exchanged free throws before Schank drove to the basket to put I/G ahead by three at 34-31. After several empty possessions, Kniseley got to the basket for two points to increase the lead to five with five minutes left. 

The Hornets were back within two with the ball with two minutes left, but a missed jumper turned into a fast break basket by Schank to make it a two-possession game. Kassidi Dejno all but clinched the win by putting back a missed shot to put her team ahead five with 20 seconds left. 

Kniseley had a team-high 17 points for the Indees, while Schank added 12. 

I/G (field goals/attempts-free throws/attempts-rebounds-fouls-points) — Kniseley 7/17-2/4-3-3-17 Pronschinske 2/8-1/2-5-1-7 Schank 5/17-2/4-12-1-12 S. Dejno 2/3-0/0-5-3-4 Kampa 0/0-0/2-1-1-0 K. Dejno 0/1-0/0-3-2-0 Scow 1/8-3/4-5-5-5

Royall 65 I/G 50

The Indees struggled at the start again and never recovered.

While the team was able to overcome early deficits in its first two playoff games, this was too much. The Panthers scored the first seven points before a basket by Scow. Royall answered with 10 straight to take a 17-2 lead before Scow scored again.

The Indees trailed by 12 at halftime before making a push at the start of the second half. Pronschinske made a three to cut the lead to nine before Kniseley got inside for a hoop to make the score 33-26 with 15:55 left in the game.

Free throws by Scow got the Indees within five with less than 13 minutes remaining, but that’s as close as the team would get. The Panthers scored the next six points and didn’t look back. 

The Indees shot slightly better from the field — 42 percent to 40 percent — but committed 30 turnovers in the game to Royall’s 18. Scow had a team-high 15 for I/G, while Kniseley and Pronschinske both scored nine.

I/G (field goals/attempts-free throws/attempts-rebounds-fouls-points) —Kent 0/0-0/0-0-1-0 Halama 0/0-0/0-1-0-0 Kniseley 4/11-1/2-2-5-9 Pronschinske 3/9-0/0-2-2-9 Schank 3/7-1/2-5-4-7 S. Dejno 2/4-2/6-6-1-6 Kampa 1/1-0/0-0-0-1 K. Dejno 1/1-0/0-3-2-2 Scow 5/11-4/6-8-2-15