In the WIAA Division 3 Girls State Basketball final Saturday afternoon in Green Bay, the Kewaunee Storm stunned the East Troy Trojans 60-58 on a last second layup by Alex Richard.
Trailing by as many as 11 points in the second half, Kewaunee rallied to take the lead for the first time in the game with less than six minutes to play. East Troy tied the game with under a minute left on a three pointer by Rachel Atchinson. After a time out by Kewaunee Coach Lynn Geier, the Storm held the ball for the final shot. Jill Kleiman penetrated the right side of the lane and dished off a perfect pass to Richard standing alone on the left side under the basket. Richard’s shot hung on the rim briefly before falling in as the buzzer sounded sending the partisan Resch Center crowd into pandemonium.
Kewaunee prevailed after struggling mightily in the first half. East Troy’s relentless defense and fast breaking offense built a 17-6 lead after one quarter and a comfortable 32-23 halftime advantage. Spurred by Kelsey Stangel’s scoring and Amanda Kudick’s inspired defensive play, Kewaunee crawled within 44-40 after three quarters.
The game remained close through the final minute when the exciting drama played out. The senior-laden Storm was led in scoring by Stangel who poured in 27 points and captured 10 rebounds. Richard added 16 points while Kleiman finished with 11 points and the biggest assist in the game to Richard to give the Kewaunee Storm back-to-back State Championships.
The game was broadcasted on 96.7FM and can be replayed by clicking on “Listen On Demand” on DoorCountyDailyNews.com’s homepage.
Top photo by Kewaunee PR Committee
