MCDONALD'S SWNEWS4U.COM GAME OF THE WEEK (Feb. 17–24)
SWC GIRLS BASKETBALL: Platteville 49, Lancaster 48
By Jason Nihles, The Platteville Journal / Fennimore Times / Boscobel Dial
Temperly scores the final five points in win over Flying Arrows as the Hillmen to force splits of SWC title
PLATTEVILLE — What a difference two days makes.
Last Tuesday, sophomore Quinn Temperly and the Platteville girls basketball team were left to lick their wounds after a 58–54 non-conference loss at Six Rivers West champion Shullsburg.
Temperly was whistled for an unsportsmanlike technical foul in the closing seconds of Tuesday’s game four throwing the ball into the stands to try and stop the clock, and the ensuring free throws sealed Platteville’s fate
Thursday night, Temperly played the roll of hero, scoring the final five points of the game to lead her Hillmen to a dramatic 49–48 comeback victory over first-place Lancaster giving each a share of this year’s Southwest Wisconsin Conference title.
It was Platteville’s fourth straight SWC title, and Lancaster’s first since winning back-to-back conference titles in 2005 and 2006.
Lancaster (21–3, 9–1 SWC) took a 48–44 lead with 1:08 left on a layup by junior Addison Morgan. Morgan was also fouled on the play, but missed the free throw.
Fouling a Platteville turnover, the Flying Arrows had a chance to extend their lead, but Lancaster gave the ball back on a turnover with 24.3 seconds to play.
Temperly took a pass from junior Avery Richard on the right win and drilled a 3-pointer with 17.4 seconds left on the clock.
Following a Platteville timeout, the Hillmen sent freshman sensation Lexi Olmstead to the line for a 1-and-1.
Olmstead with the front end of the bonus, giving Platteville one last chance to steal the win.
Lancaster was whistled for a non-shooting foul with 7.1 seconds left and Temperly went to the line for her own 1-and-1.
She swished the first to tie the game, then swished the would-be game-winner moments later to account for the 49–48 final score.
“Each girl was ready to do their part for the win,” said Platteville head coach Brandon Temperly. “ Avery forced the defense to collapse and Quinn was ready for the shot and buried it. Rianna gets a huge rebound after that on a missed free throw and Quinn attacks the hoop drawing a foul. Quinn came up clutch with the two free throws in a big moment. Rianna ended with another big rebound to finish the game. Her rebounding this year has been phenomenal.”
But the game was far from over. Lancaster called an immediate timeout to set up a final play.
Coach Courtney Feller put the ball in the hands of her leading scorer Olmstead, who drew a two-shot shooting foul on Rianna Dye with 1.6 seconds left.
Astonishingly, Olmstead — a 64 percent free throw shooter entering the game — missed both free throws and Dye snatched the defensive rebound as time expired.
Olmstead finished the night with a game-high 22 points on 8 of 11 shooting, with five rebounds and two steals. After a quiet first 23 minutes of the game, she exploded for 17 points in a 22–5 run and gave the Flying Arrows a 44–38 lead on a nifty finger roll layup with 5:27 left in the game.
“Lancaster turned up the pressure in the second half and we panicked a little bit and Lancaster was able to capitalize on our turnovers,” added coach Temperly. “ We showed a lot of resilience down the stretch and continued to stick together which gave us a chance to find a way to win. I am really proud of the girls for their grit as a team. Both teams left it all out on the floor.
Sophomore Maddie Driscoll added 11 points, seven rebounds, five steals and two blocks for Lancaster.
Temperly finished with a team-high 15 points and five assists, scoring 10 point in the first half as Platteville built a 28–20 halftime lead. Richard finished the game with 10 points, five steals and four rebounds, while Dye added seven points and 12 rebounds, despite missing the final nine minutes of the first half with foul trouble and facing constant double teams against Lancaster’s 1–3–1 defense the rest of the night.
Sophomore Soreaya Stone chipped in eight points and three steals, and freshman Kinley Bendorf hit a pair of clutch 3-pointers for the winners.
In Tuesday’s loss at Shullsburg (15–8), Platteville rallied from a 52–42 deficit in the final 3 minutes to pull within two points at 54–52 on a layup by Temperly with 13 seconds left, but the Hillmen were out of timeouts and the clock was running.
The ball was knocked into the corner, but with the clock still winding down Temperly opted to throw the ball into the stands, stopping the clock with 8.2 seconds left, but drawing a technical foul.
Shullsburg’s Hailey Alt made both free throws, then made two more after a Platteville foul to put the game out of reach.
“We were trying to take a delay of game warning and the ball got thrown out of play,” explained coach Temperly. “We ended up getting assessed a technical which awarded Shullsburg two free throws and the ball and we were unable to recover. Shullsburg deserves a lot of credit for how they played.”
Platteville had a first-round bye when the WIAA Division 3 playoffs began Tuesday night. The No. 3 seed Hillmen will face either No. 6 New Glarus (13–11) or No. 11 Dodgeville (8–16) in a D3 regional semifinal Friday night.
A win Friday, would earn Platteville a berth in Saturday’s regional final, which will likely be hosted by No. 2 seed Lancaster (21–3). Lancaster will face either No. 7 Evansville (11–13) or No. 10 Delavan–Darien (14–8) in a regional semifinal Friday night.
“The two games that we have played against Lancaster this year have been very good high school basketball games in great environments,” added coach Temperly. “If both teams are fortunate to meet again it should be a good one and a treat for the fans. Our girls will need to make sure we take things one game at a time. The biggest game for us right now will be either New Glarus or Dodgeville on Friday.”
Platteville 49, Lancaster 48
(from Thursday, Feb. 19 @ Platteville)
Lancaster....20 28 — 48
Platteville....28 21 — 49
Lancaster (21–4, 9–1) — Maddie Driscoll 11, Lexi Olmstead 22, Brooklyn Crubel 5, Kylie Olmstead 2, Maddie Burr 1, Addison Morgan 7. Totals — 18 8-16 48.
Platteville (19–5, 9–1) — Soraeya Stone 8, Kinley Bendorf 6, Maggie Grabandt 3, Avery Richard 10, Quinn Temperly 15, Rianna Dye 7. Totals — 19 3-8 49.
3-pointers — L; 4 (Driscoll 1, L. Olmstead 1, Crubel 1), P: 8 (Stone 2, Bendorf 2, Grabandt 1, Temperly 3). Team Fouls — L: 15, P: 17. Fouled out — none.
