By Rich Palzewic
Sports Editor
GREEN BAY – The Notre Dame Academy girls’ basketball team is heading to the WIAA Division 2 state tournament this weekend in La Crosse as the No. 1-ranked team in the state and the odds-on favorite to take home a gold ball.
Let by Division I commit Sammy Opichka (18 points per game), the Tritons, coached by Sara Rohde, are 26-1 and winners of 24 straight games.
It takes more than a few solid players to make a good team, and that’s how the Barington sisters – Faith, Hope and Grace – look at it.
“It’s been a fabulous year for all of us,” said the senior Faith. “At the beginning of the season, we knew we had the talent, but when we beat Appleton East (88-62) early in the season (Dec. 3), that was one of the first moments I thought we had a legitimate shot to win it all. As underclassmen, I knew our senior year would be good, but I don’t think any of us figured it would be this good until recently.”
Hope, a sophomore, said it’s been a joy playing under Rohde.
“She pushes us in a good way and knows how to motivate us,” she said. “At the same time, she knows there’s a time and place to have fun and when to work.”
The youngest of the Barington sisters, Grace, who was called up for the postseason as a freshman, said she was a little intimidated by Rohde when she found out she’d be on the roster.
“It was scary at first,” she laughed, “but it’s been fun and a big opportunity for me. If I get to play in the state tournament, it either means we’re up big or down big.”
The Barington sisters all said they get asked a lot about how their parents named them.
“Going to Notre Dame, we grew up with a religious background,” said Faith. “That’s a big part of why my parents named us the way they did. I know my mom liked the name Faith, so that’s where it started. It spiraled down from there with my two other sisters. The names go together well.”
Normally, the girls’ state tournament is held at the Resch Center in Green Bay, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was split into two venues: The La Crosse Center in La Crosse and the Menominee Nation Arena in Oshkosh.
Which divisions played at which location was determined before the state tournament field was set, and the Tritons got the unlucky draw of having to travel across the state this weekend.
Divisions 2, 4 and 5 will be played in La Crosse, while divisions 1 and 3 will be played in Oshkosh.
It was also determined that both the semifinal and final games for each division would be played on the same day.
“It was disappointing we got La Crosse,” said Hope, who’s averaging 6.1 points per contest in 26 games played this season. “It’s a long day of travel. If we win our first game, there will be lots of sitting around between games and you can’t go anywhere. As a team, it would have been nice to play in front of our local fans. I’m not sure how many will go to La Crosse.”
Notre Dame will open against No. 4-seeded Onalaska Saturday, Feb. 27, at 9:05 a.m., while No. 2 New Berlin Eisenhower and No. 3 Reedsburg will square off in the other semifinal a few hours after.
The championship game is set for 6:35 p.m.
“I don’t know much about the other teams,” said Faith. “I know for them to make it this far, they’re good. We are focusing on ourselves, and I have faith in our team. If we play our best and come together as a team, we should be giving other teams a run for their money and hopefully, bring home a championship.”
Faith, Hope and Grace are the daughters of Andrea and Nathan Barington.
The trio of sisters also has a younger brother, Will, who is 11.