By Rich Palzewic
Sports Editor
SHEBOYGAN – The Bay Port girls’ basketball team is one win away from a WIAA Division 1 state tournament appearance.
The No. 1-seeded Pirates played their most complete game of the season in a 72-54 victory over No. 4 Germantown in the sectional semifinals Feb. 28 at Sheboygan North High School.
Bay Port will travel to Manitowoc Lincoln High School March 2 to take on No. 2 Arrowhead (19-6) with a trip to state on the line.
“This was not only our best game of the year, but I think it’s the best game I have ever coached,” said Bay Port head coach Kati Coleman, whose team improved to 24-1. “The girls played for each other. From the very first possession, everybody was up and into the game. That energy does something for the team.”
It’s no secret the Pirates haven’t been playing their best ball the last month of the season, but a win like this gives the talented squad a shot of adrenaline.
“I really didn’t expect this to be honest,” Coleman said. “We’ve told the girls they have to do this and have to do that – almost like being their moms and dads telling them what to do. Tonight they actually went and did it. Everyone had a huge smile on their face after the game.”
The Pirates will be looking to avenge a sectional final loss to Arrowhead a season ago.
The teams hooked up in a triple-overtime thriller earlier this season, where Bay squeaked out a 59-55 win at the Middleton Holiday Shootout.
“It’s definitely a rivalry with Arrowhead,” Coleman said. “Our girls will be ready for it. The coaching staff won’t have to say anything to get them fired up.”
Things couldn’t have started any better for Bay Port as they jumped out to a 17-9 lead behind six points from Emma Nagel, five from McKenzie Johnson and four from Alaina Abel.
After Nagel converted on a bucket near the end of the first half in part of a 6-0 run, the Pirates took a 33-24 lead into the intermission.
“This was definitely our best game of the year,” said Abel. “We had tremendous energy and it translated into a great game. Basketball is a game of runs, and the little things helped us advance.”
Germantown’s five three-pointers in the first 18 minutes kept things close.
After the Warhawks (21-4) cut the lead to 42-33 early in the second half, Bay Port got threes from Reagan McIntyre, Emma Krueger (2) and Johnson to bump the lead to 60-38 with 8 minutes to play.
Germantown, which shot just 29.5 percent from the field, never threatened again.
“In the middle of the season I was pretty down on myself,” said the freshman Krueger, who had 21 points in the Pirates’ Dec. 27 victory over Arrowhead. “I’ve been working on my shot a lot after practice, and my teammates have been very supportive.”
When asked if she was nervous at all, Krueger had a short response.
“Not once the game started,” she said.
The Pirates held Germantown standout Natalie McNeal to 11 points, eight below her season average.
Nagel (16), Abel (13), Krueger (12) and Johnson (10) all scored in double digits, with Nagel also pulling down 18 rebounds and adding five assists.
McIntyre also had a strong game with seven points and nine rebounds.
Emilie Wizner also scored 11 points for the Warhawks, which will lose only three seniors from this year’s roster.
Box score
Germantown: 24, 28 – 52
Bay Port: 33, 41 – 74