Regional Title Underdogs to Watch

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tonight, 40 teams will earn Regional Championship plaques all over Wisconsin. In those eighty games, I want to talk about some underdogs and players who could lead their team to an unexpected trip to the Sectional Semifinals.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Divine Savior Holy Angels</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Stop me if you've heard this before. DSHA is traveling for a Regional Championship and is the clear underdog.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>If that feels like de ja vu, it's because it is. The Dashers have gone on the road as a No. 7 seed to Homestead two years ago and a No. 5 seed last year to Hartford, and won those games to earn a Regional Title plaque.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Don't get it twisted. Tonight, when the Dashers tip off at Brookfield East, the Spartans know the recent success the Dashers have had in Regionals and will not overlook them. DSHA and Brookfield East played twice this season. The first game finished within single digits, and the second was a more convincing Spartans victory at home.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Dashers also have [player_tooltip player_id='207069' first='Ally' last='Timm'], and anyone who knows her as a player will tell you Timm's a kid who can win a game if she gets her shots to fall.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On paper, it should be the Spartans' third Regional Title in a row, but that's the beauty of the postseason, we don't know.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>De Pere</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Redbirds come into the postseason, likely knowing they won't face a better team than Notre Dame, and that's a team they've shown they can hang with, so nobody will blow them out of the water.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Last season's hopes of an extended postseason run ended when [player_tooltip player_id='209605' first='Claire' last='Bjorge'] went down with an injury, but she's making the most of her final weeks in a Redbird uniform. She's been outstanding in her senior and has been on a tear in her senior season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Since her sophomore year, the entire rotation has been different due to graduations. Her new running mate is [player_tooltip player_id='209614' first='Sophie' last='Hafeman']. Hafeman is the type of player Bjorge hasn't played with since she got to De Pere. She's a reliable post-player who you can play through.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bjorge and Hafeman each scored 26 last night in their win over Kaukauna at the Birds Nest, and that duo will be matching up with Hartford's duo of [player_tooltip player_id='533085' first='Bella' last='Klages'] and [player_tooltip player_id='338945' first='Makena' last='Christian'] in Hartford tonight.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Marshfield</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Tigers have had a wild ride of a season. From losing Ayana Bousm halfway through the year to beating Stevens Point at home to seal a split of the Wisconsin Valley title, there have been ups and downs all year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After all that, the Tigers find themselves as healthy as they'll be, playing their best basketball at the end of February. They have kids they can rely on to do their job any night, and that'll keep them in every game they play.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>They'll make the trip due west to the border of Wisconsin and Minnesota to have their rematch against the Hudson Raiders tonight. The first contest didn't go the Tigers' way, but they could get some payback.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Reedsburg</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's known that the Beavers will expect the world out of [player_tooltip player_id='209900' first='Sydney' last='Cherney'], and she tends to deliver.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After another hilarious stat line from Cherney last night against Sauk Prairie, the Beavers will travel to West Salem tonight to face a reigning Sectional Champion in D3 after their enrollment bumped them up to D2.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Beavers may make an unbelievable run to state through [player_tooltip player_id='209900' first='Sydney' last='Cherney'], and if she did, it would be the most impressive feat I've seen, but if anyone could do it, it's her.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->