B-T girls split home DC games
In two of their final home games of the regular season, the Blair-Taylor girls split a pair of conference games to clinch a Dairyland Conference Small Division title.
The week began with a win on the road last Monday at Brookwood, before the Wildcats took the first of two in their own conference over Independence last Tuesday thanks to a career-high 40-point game from Lindsay Steien. Then on Thursday, B-T was unable to overcome a seven-point halftime deficit against Cochrane-Fountain City in a conference loss.
The 2-1 week moves B-T to 14-5 overall, as well as a 9-3 mark in the Dairyland Small that is good for their first conference title since 2017-18. It is also their third conference title in the last four years. This week, the Wildcats wrap up their regular season with a Monday road game at Whitehall, as well as a Thursday date with Eau Claire Immanuel Lutheran in their home finale.
In seeding announcements Sunday night for the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Division Five playoffs, the Wildcats also earned a fourth seed as they will host 13th-seeded Pittsville next Tuesday. The winner faces the winner of fifth-seeded Royall and 12th-seeded New Lisbon on Friday.
B-T 80 Brookwood 21
Three in double-figures, two of which reached 10 or more points in the first half, led B-T to victory in a rout that was well-decided at halftime.
The Wildcats led 49-15 at the break, led by 18 points from Lindsay Steien. Abby Thompson was also at 11 points at half. For the game, Steien finished with 22 while Thompson added 18 and Marlee Nehring had 10. Rounding out scorers were six from Leah Kidd, five each from Callie Wagner, Chloe Wagner, Kierstyn Kindschy and McKenna Boe and two each from Lauren Kidd and Alivia Boe.
B-T 68 Independence 37
With an early lead trimmed to 19-17 after a Ziy Conner bucket, the Wildcats closed the first half against Independence/Gilmanton on an 18-4 run.
Steien started the run with her second three-pointer of the game, followed by another two-pointer to increase the lead to 24-17. After an Alana Back layup for the Indees, Chloe Wagner knocked down a three and Steien added a pair of free-throws to make it a 29-19 ballgame. The rest of the run was all Steien’s offense, as she knocked down two layups including one with a foul and a three-pointer before another Conner layup cut the halftime deficit for the Indees to 37-21.
For the game, Steien tallied a game-breaking 40 points, five rebounds and four assists for the Wildcats. She shot 12-for-22 from the field, including three-for-four on three-point attempts, and seven-for-seven from the free-throw line.
Kindschy added eight points, followed by Thompson’s seven, four each from Lauren Kidd and Nehring, three from Chloe Wagner and two from Alivia Boe. Nehring also added four rebounds and six assists, while Lauren Kidd had five rebounds as well.
Conner was a bright spot for the Indees, accumulating 20 points and 20 boards. Alana Back had 10 points, followed by Emerson Pronschinske’s three and Amiah Ives and Avery Pape each with two. Aubrie Pronschinske also led the team in assists with five.
C-FC 73 B-T 65
A 2-17 clip from beyond-the-arc led to a scoring output that came up just short against the Pirates on Thursday for B-T. The Wildcats trailed 32-25 at half, and a 40-point second half came up just shy of a comeback as C-FC kept pace.
Leading the Wildcats were Nehring’s 24 points, followed by 19 from Steien, seven each from Thompson and Lauren Kidd, four from Kindschy, three from Chloe Wagner and one from Callie Wagner.
