State Tournament Preview: Division Four

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Thursday night, we'll see the semifinals for Division 4 play out, and those games should be competitive. Even though the top two seeds have been the favorites to get to the state title game since November, you never know what will happen in a single elimination tournament. That said, let's talk about the four teams at state.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Aquinas</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Blugolds have been a small school power with the Donarski's coming through the ranks. Last year the Blugolds fell to eventual champions Mineral Point. This year they got back senior [player_tooltip player_id='156071' first='Macy' last='Donarski'] and added a few pieces to help propel this roster forward. Donarski is a future Montana Grizzly and runs the show for the Blugolds. She usually has the ball as the lead guard and has the skill and athleticism to make things happen off the dribble. Freshman Sammie Davis is one of the best 2026s in the state and came into her own throughout the season. The rest of the rotation has kids who know their roles and star in them. [player_tooltip player_id='780388' first='Maddie' last='Murphy'], Autumn Passehl, and Shea Bahr are off-ball guards who are scrappy kids and take advantage of recovering defenses. Senior Barch Hnizdilova is a 6-foot wing with skill on the perimeter and brings the length her team needs to help defend posts or tall perimeter players.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Laconia</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Spartans came to state a year ago, started three freshmen, a sophomore, and a senior, but came up just short against Mineral Point. The returning players did not look pleased with their silver medals and are back for more this year. They are a balanced offense that likes to play up-tempo. Defensively they create havoc and earn live ball turnovers. The leader of this group is a do-it-all kid named [player_tooltip player_id='342096' first='Tierney' last='Madigan']. I've seen her wear multiple hats, depending on who she's playing with at the time. Madigan can put up 20 points in a game, grab ten rebounds, earn eight assists, or record six steals. Anything she does wouldn't surprise me at this point. [player_tooltip player_id='375953' first='Aubrey' last='Leonard'] and [player_tooltip player_id='448258' first='Payton' last='Morgan'] are two kids who do similar things. They're both athletic wings, love to jump passing lanes, knock down perimeter shots, and attack the basket when defenses are late rotating to them. Junior Callista VandeBerg is the kid who'll decide how far they go this week. The forward does all the dirty work down low, which doesn't always lead to scoring. She boxes out well, throws good outlet passes and rebounds on the offensive end, and finds her fair share of loose balls. Not the headliner in D4, but VandeBerg is one to watch.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Colfax</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Not many people are probably familiar with the Vikings, heck I didn't even pick them to get here, but this group has a dangerous kid at the point of attack. Junior [player_tooltip player_id='444786' first='McKenna' last='Shipman'] had a fair share of big games last summer on the AAU circuit, and I'm not surprised it's translated to playoff basketball. Shipman is a kid who's comfortable with scoring in volume, and she has the stamina to be the focal point for 36 minutes every game. The junior hit a few late free throws to send the Vikings through to state when they were the underdogs against reigning sectional champions Neillsville. She's not a kid everyone knows about, but [player_tooltip player_id='444786' first='McKenna' last='Shipman'] will make herself known tomorrow night.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Mishicot</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As a four-seed in their subsection, not many people would've expected Mishicot to be back at state, but they edged one of the favorites in the section, St. Mary Catholic, to get here. Kailey Tulachka is an Eau Claire commit who'll dominate on the interior. Her physicality is something most kids aren't comfortable defending, and she'll get a few easy baskets simply by being herself. Junior Julie Koeppel is her frontcourt mate and played an excellent season. She led Mishicot in rebounding and was one of their leading scorers. Most of this team's offense will be in the paint, and if Aquinas isn't physically ready, they'll have a few problems.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->