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A strong start from Waunakee wasn't enough against a relentless Pius XI squad in a Division 2 girls basketball state semi-final Friday afternoon, as Pius pulled away down the stretch for a 55-30 victory.

Waunakee led 9-4 at the end of the first quarter, as a box-and-one defense against Pius All-State guard Gabby Green seemed to throw the Lady Popes off their rhythm. Pius used an 11-0 run in just under 4 minutes to take a 15-9 lead midway through the period however, stretching its advantage to 28-14 at halftime. The Lady Popes controlled the game in the second half to cruise home for a 55-30 win.

Green was able to shake free from the defense to connect on all six of her field goal attempts, finishing with a game-high 16 points. She led a balanced scoring attack that saw nine players get into the scoring column.

Waunakee was led by 8 points from Kaelin Franklin, with Jada Dayne adding 6 points and 12 rebounds.

Cedarburg jumped out to a 16-4 advantage after the first quarter, and held on the rest of the way to secure a 51-41 win over River Falls in a Division 2 state semi-final.

The Bulldogs badgered River Falls All-State forward Karly Murphy into a 0-7 shooting start, and by the time she found her range, it was too late for the Wildcats to recover.

Cedarburg got a very balanced offensive performance, with four players scoring exactly 10 points apiece: Ady Schreiner, Kylee Marks, Allie Barber, and Kendall Lynch.

River Falls did make a run in the second quarter of the game, pulling even at 18 before Kennedy Ross hit a three-pointer to put Cedarburg back on top. Up 27-20 at halftime, the Bulldogs pushed their lead to 9 at the end of the third, answering several late River Falls challenges to keep the point spread around 10 the rest of the way.

Murphy finished with 19 points and 14 rebounds, though connected on just 6 of 17 shots from the field.