The Kewaunee Storm girls basketball team will try to advance to the sectional final for the first time since 2013 when it travels to Denmark to face top-seeded Manitowoc Lutheran.
The Storm punched its ticket to sectionals with a pair of wins over Valders (62-48) and Oconto (65-30). In Friday's victory, Braelyn Chevalier helped the Storm maintain a double-digit lead for much of the second half. Chevalier scored 16 of her team-high 21 points after halftime, while Gabby Stangel and Jade Kroll hit 3-pointers to stop the Vikings’ runs. Kroll added 15 points, and Stangel chipped in 12 to pace the Storm to the win.
On Saturday, Kroll fueled the early success with 20 first-half points, including four 3-pointers. Breanna Riha and Summer Walechka combined for 11 points, matching the Blue Devils’ first-half total, as the Storm entered the locker room with a 31-11 lead. Kroll finished with a game-high 38 points, while Walechka added 11 and Riha scored eight.
Click here for our interview with head coach Lynn Geier.
The Lancers earned their place in sectionals with blowout wins over Southern Door (80-29) and Algoma (68-29). In Friday’s game, the Lancers jumped out early, and the Eagles could not gain any traction against the full-court press implemented from the start. Several transition baskets by the Lancers’ top two all-time scorers, Makiah Krause and Marissa Mehlhorn, set the tone early.
On Saturday, Krause and Mehlhorn each scored 13 points in the first half, equaling Algoma’s team total, as the Lancers entered the locker room with a 43-13 lead. The duo finished with 20 and 17 points, respectively.
Earlier this year, the Lancers rallied from a six-point deficit to beat the Storm 64-57 in Kewaunee. Mehlhorn scored 30 points, while Krause and Abbie Behnke each added 12 as the Lancers outscored the Storm 31-20 in the second half. Kroll scored 24 in the matchup, with Walechka and Stangel each adding eight.
Thursday’s game is also a rematch of last year’s sectional final, when the Lancers outscored the Storm 10-5 in overtime to secure a 68-63 win. Kroll (23 points) and Krause (21 points) led their respective teams.
Tim Kowols and Eric Fischer will have the call from Denmark High School on 96.7 WBDK beginning at 6:45 p.m., with tipoff scheduled for 7 p.m.
