MCDONALD'S SWNEWS4U.COM CO-GAME OF THE WEEK (Feb. 24–March 4)
WIAA DIVISION 3 GIRLS BASKETBALL: No. 2 Lancaster 67, No. 3 Platteville 64

By Jason Nihles, The Platteville Journal 

Olmstead, No. 2 Arrows fly past No. 3 Hillmen for first regional title since 2006
LANCASTER — Lancaster freshman Lexie Olmstead wasn’t about to repeat the previous week’s nightmare finish for her Flying Arrows. 

Just nine days after missing three free throws in the final 17 seconds of a 49–48 loss at Platteville, Olmstead scored 17 of her game-high 31 points in the final four minutes to lift the No. 2 seed Flying Arrows to a 67–64 victory the No. 3 Hillmen in Saturday night’s WIAA Division 3 regional final at LHS.

Olmstead scored 17 of her team’s final 19 points (and made nine straight free throws during that span) after Platteville took a 49–47 lead on a 3-pointer by sophomore Quinn Temperly with 5:44 left in the game.

“Lexie is a special talent and her athleticism is next level,” said Platteville head coach Brandon Temperly. “When she gets going downhill, she is difficult to stop.  We were trying to keep the ball out of her hands but she was able to find a way, and once she had it, we couldn’t stop her. She is a good player and a good kid.”

Platteville and Lancaster shared this year’s SWC title after splitting its two regular season meetings with Lancaster winning 70–63 at home Jan. 16.

“All three games between us and Lancaster have been epic battles,” said Temperly. “This was another high level girls basketball game in front of communities that support their programs with passion.  All three games were fun to compete in and the atmospheres were electric. It’s always tough to lose but our girls can take a lot from each one of the games.”

Platteville finished the year 20–6 overall after going 9–1 in the SWC to win a share of a third-straight conference title.

Lancaster (22–3) to face No. 1 seed Edgerton (24–2) in Thursday night’s WIAA D3 sectional semifinals after winning its first regional title since 2006.

The Hillmen got closed the half on a 7–2 run, thanks to 3-pointers by junior Avery Richard and freshman Kinley Bendorf and trailed just 30–28 at the break.

Junior Rianna Dye also had a strong first half for Platteville, scoring nine of her 16 points in the first 18 minutes, despite Lancaster’s 1–3–1 zone defense intent on doubling the Platteville center whenever possible to limit her offensive touches.

Lancaster opened the second half on an 8–2 run to build a 38–30 lead, but Platteville slowly chipped away to get within a point a 45–44 on a steal and breakaway layup by Richard with 6:38 remaining.

After a short hook shot by Lancaster sophomore Brooklyn Crubel on the very next possession, Quinn Temperly scored five straight points on a layup and a 3-pointer to give Platteville a 49–47 lead, its first of the game since the opening minutes of the game.

Lancaster senior Kylie Olmstead split a pair of free throws to, then Lexie Olmstead scored six straight points before Temperly buried another 3-pointer to trim the Lancaster lead to 54–52 with 3:29 left.

The younger Olmstead made two more free throws to make it a four-point game before picking up her fourth foul with 2:29 to play. But that didn’t faze Lancaster standout one bit.

Olmstead answered a 3-pointer by Kinley Bendorf with a 3-pointe play to make it 61–57 with 1:08, then answered a nifty floater by Temperly with two more free throws at the 52.6-second mark.

Platteville freshman Soraeya Stone drilled a clutch 3-pointer  moments later to make it a one-point game and the Hillmen called their final time , but Olmstead scored on an inbound play with 34 seconds left to again make it a 3-point game.

Platteville missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer and a putback before Lancaster forced a jump ball with 14.9 seconds left on the clock.

Olmstead made two more clutch free throws to push the lead to five.

Richard scored went coast to coast and converted a left handed layup to provide the final margin of victory. As the ball fell through the net, Richard swatted it to the corner in a last-ditch effort to draw a delay of game warning and stop the clock one last time.

The referee did stop the game with 4.7 seconds left, but after a brief meeting, the officiating crew ruled the clock should have continued to run and the game was over. 

Lexie Olmstead finished with 31 points, 10 rebounds and six steals. Kylie Olmstead added 12 points and two steals for the winners.

Quinn Temperly scored a team-high 19 points to lead the Hillmen, while Dye posted 16 points and 12 rebounds. Richard finished with 10 points, 11 assists and five steals.

WIAA Division 3 Regional Final
No. 2 Lancaster 67, No. 3 Platteville 64 
(from Saturday, Feb. 28 @ Lancaster)
Platteville.....28  36 — 64 
Lancaster......30  37 — 67     
Platteville (20–6) — Soraeya Stone 8, Kinley Bendorf 6, Avery Richard 10, Quinn Temperly 18, Laylaa Schuler 3, Mia Huser 2, Rianna Dye 16. Totals — 23 10-13 64.
Lancaster (22–3) — Maddie Driscoll 4, Lexie Olmstead 31, Brooklyn Crubel 7, Kylie Olmstead 12, Maddie Burr 2, Katie Murphy 5, Addison Morgan 6. Totals — 26 12-16 67.
3-pointers — P: 9 (Stone 1, Bendorf 2, Richard 1, Temperly 4, Schuler 1); L: 3 (Crubel 1, Murphy 1, Morgan 1). Team Fouls — P: 15, L: 13. Fouled out — L: Maddie Burr.