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Notre Dame wins defensive battle with New Berlin Eisenhower for Division 2 title

03/16/2013, 9:00pm CDT
By Travis Wilson

After a quick start, it appeared Notre Dame may run away from New Berlin Eisenhower in the Division 2 state title game. However, things slowed down for both teams before Notre Dame made some big plays in the fourth quarter to pull away for a 42-31 victory and the school's second WIAA championship.

The Tritons raced to a 14-7 lead less than 6 minutes into the game, but Eisenhower showed its mettle to battle back. A layup from Erin Ganzke, Friday's hero in the win over two-time defending champ New London, pulled the Lions within 1 at 18-17 with 4:44 left in the first half, but again the momentum slowed for both teams.

Notre Dame took a 19-17 lead into the halftime break despite allowing 9 offensive rebounds to Eisenhower, who were only able to convert them into 6 points.

The third quarter remained a defensive struggle and ended in a stalemate, with Notre Dame holding the same 2 point lead they entered with. Eisenhower did manage to go ahead by 5 points early in the period, but Notre Dame answered with a 6-0 run to move back in front.

Eisenhower scored first in the final quarter, knotting the game at 28 with 6:13 remaining. Notre Dame's defense tightened again however, and the Tritons were able to get to the free throw line during an 8-0 run that put them up by 8 with just over a minute left.

Notre Dame, ranked #1 in the WSN Pre-Season Rankings, closed out the game from the free throw line for the 42-33 victory.

Defense was the key all day for the Tritons, who held Eisenhower to just 27.7% shooting. Lions' second-leading scorer Katie Lang was just 2 for 15 from the field and finished well below her average.

With All-State junior guard Allie LeClaire having an uncharacteristic off night on offense, it was the complimentary players that stepped up big. Anika Johnson led the way with 11 points while fellow senior Brianna Byrne added 10. LeClaire finished with 5 points, 10 below her season average.

Jenny Weiland had another good game for head coach Gary Schmidt, scoring 12 points while Ganzke added 10.

However, the combination of stifling defense and balanced offense was just too much as Notre Dame claimed the victory.

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