Above The Fold Media | For the Leader
SIREN – The Siren girls basketball team secured a spot in the WIAA sectional and its first regional title since 2015, with a 56-53 win at Hurley on Saturday.
Emma Peterson scored a team-high 19 points and added five rebounds with five assists for the Dragons, who got out to a good start but eventually needed multiple comebacks and had to sustain a late threat.
“We started well and got up 10-0, (but) then it was 21-20 at halftime,” Siren coach Ryan Karsten said.
Courtney Corullo and Melissa DiGiorgio led the Hurley comeback, combining for 16 of the team’s 20 first-half points and then combining for 28 points in the second half. And four of those points threatened a late Siren lead and its potential regional title.
The Dragons held a late five-point lead in the final minute but their fortunes took a sudden turn for the worse.
“We did the unthinkable – we fouled on a 3-pointer and she made it,” said Karsten, referring to a 3-pointer from Corullo, who also made the following free throw. “We went from five up to one up with 20 seconds to go.”
Fortunately for the Dragons, they got the ball to Peterson, who took a foul and sank two important free throws, giving Siren a three-point lead. They withstood a pair of Hurley attempts to tie the game with the final possession and got the win.
Lilly Johnson had 16 points and four rebounds for the Dragons; Lindsay Liljenberg added 11 points and five rebounds.
The Dragons earned a pair of postseason wins before claiming the regional title, starting with a 63-29 win over Luck on Feb. 21. They held the Cardinals to 12 first-half points while having one of their best scoring halves of the season. Kateri St. John scored 12 of her 14 points in the first half while Kiersen Oustigoff and Lilly Johnson scored nine points each. Oustigoff and Johnson finished with 11 points each for Siren and Layla Porter added nine.
Abby Blechinger and Alayna Kelch had nine points each for Luck.
On Thursday, the Dragons got a game-high 23 points from Emma Peterson in a 61-42 win over Mellen. Peterson scored 14 points in the first half and Johnson scored all 16 of her points in the second half for the Dragons.
Siren goes to Shell Lake to face South Shore in the sectional on Thursday. South Shore has won 13 of its prior 14 games, but it did finish in a regular-season tie with Hurley atop the Indianhead Conference standings.
“(South Shore) is just like Hurley – it has two pretty nice players,” Karsten said. “It will be a challenge.”
SCF 56, Prescott 48
The Saints secured another WIAA regional title with a win at Prescott on Saturday.
Brianna McCurdy scored 21 points for the Saints, making all seven of her free-throw attempts and seven of her 11 attempts from 2-point range.
Kelsey Cooper added 15 points and seven rebounds for St. Croix Falls; Selah Greenquist had nine points and eight rebounds.
The Saints advance to face Somerset at Amery on Thursday to start sectional competition.
Colfax 46, Unity 29
Colfax allowed just nine first-half points in a win that ended Unity’s season on Friday.
The Vikings’ first-half defense allowed them to take a 16-point lead into the break and they denied the Eagles a potential comeback win.
Lola McElhone led Unity with eight points; Maddi Reed, Mahkenna Smisek, Josie Fugate and Sydney Smith had four points each.
SCF 56, SCC 46
Brianna McCurdy had a game-high 30 points for the Saints in their WIAA regional win on Friday.
McCurdy sank 11 of her 16 free-throw attempts and went 8-for-12 from 2-point range for St. Croix Falls, which trailed by two points entering halftime but outscored St. Croix Central 32-20 in the second half.
Lucy Belisle had 11 points and 12 rebounds for the Saints; Kelsey Cooper had nine points and eight rebounds.
Unity 57, Cumberland 22
The Eagles outscored Cumberland 35-4 in the first half of their WIAA regional win on Feb. 21.
Unity allowed only two Cumberland players more than one make from the floor in the game.
Josie Fugate led the Eagles with 13 points and five rebounds; Maddi Reed, Mahkenna Smisek and Lola McElhone had eight points each.
Solon Springs 54, Frederic 34
Solon Springs limited Frederic to just 13 points in the first half of a WIAA regional win at home on Feb. 21.
With the Vikings up 10-8, the Eagles went on a 20-1 first-half run and eventually took a 31-13 lead into the break. Solon Springs then scored the first 16 points of the second half.
Ripplee Dunlavey led Frederic with 10 points and 17 rebounds; Allie Swanson had nine points and five rebounds.
Cameron 62, Webster 49
Cameron put the Tigers at a first-half deficit they couldn’t emerge from in the WIAA regional on Feb. 21.
The Comets took a 27-17 lead into halftime and held on to extend their season while Webster’s came to a close.
Lauren Hetfeld led the Tigers with 24 points and 14 rebounds; Elle Treague had 11 points, five rebounds and four steals; while Addison McDowell had nine points.
