Falcons shut down Panthers to advance to regional final

The Sheboygan Falls Falcons defense turned in a strong defensive performance, as the Plymouth Panthers offense went cold in the second half of a WIAA Division 2 regional girls basketball playoff contest Thursday, March 11, in Sheboygan Falls.

Drawing on its stellar defensive effort, Falls rolled over the Panthers 55-28 to move on to the Division 2 regional final game.

Plymouth shot just 24 percent from the field (10-of-42) and couldn’t find away to penetrate the Falcons 2-3 zone defense.

“We knew what we had to get done,” said Falcons coach Leroy Hamilton. “These girls came to play and didn’t want it to end here.

“Plymouth has a good team and we didn’t want them to get started,” he said.

“We didn’t shoot well. Our shots kept falling out,” said Panthers coach Brad Shutter. “Our players didn’t handle the runs by Falls.

“They’re a good team,” he said. “We just weren’t able to stop them all. They had too many weapons.”

The victory improved Falls’ record to 17-7 overall, as it advanced to a regional final game against Kettle Moraine Lutheran (18-6 overall), The Panthers ended their season 14-10 overall.

The Falcons opened the game with a 10-1 run in the first four minutes, as junior guard Brooke Buehler led the charge with five points.

Junior Kaitlyn Hoffman lifted her Panthers back into contention, with five straight points to cut the lead to 12-10.

Hoffman then crashed the boards and was fouled to trim the lead to 14-13, as the Falcons committed three straight turnovers to start the second quarter.

Plymouth junior Amanda Gumm gave the team their only lead of the game with a lay-up and a free throw to move the Panthers ahead 16-14.

Falls bounced back, using a balanced scoring attack to mount a 10-1 scoring run and seize a 24-17 lead at the end of the first half.

Falls junior Cassie Quirt threw down a big 3-point shot and senior Alyse Hucke scored off the bench to spark the comeback.

Plymouth was able to contain Falls’ leading scorer Lauren Carman in the first half, but Falls was able to counter with other shooters.

The Panthers were unable to show down the Falcons’ 1-2 punch of Staci Hasler and Buehler in the second and third quarters.

Buehler had seven points in the first half and it was Hasler that willed Falls on an offensive assault in the third quarter.

Hasler cut through the lane on two consecutive lay-ups and buried a 3-pointer to spearhead an 11-1 run and push the Falcons to a 35-18 lead. Emilie Leffin also scored four points inside to key the Falls run.

Plymouth’s Hoffman nailed a 3-point shot and sophomore Lizzy Stancyzk’s hard drive to the hoop stopped the bleeding temporarily, as the Panthers cut the lead to 38-25 late in the third.

Falls finished the third with two 3-pointers from Amanda Milne and Quirt, crushing any hopes of a Panthers rally.

Plymouth’s offense looked drained, as the Falcons ran away with the game in the fourth quarter.

Hoffman led the Panthers in scoring with 11 points and contributed five rebounds. Emily Cecka finished her career with four points, seven boards, three steals and three assists, while Gumm added five points with three steals.

Hasler finished with 13 points to lead Falls. Quirt scored eight points with two 3-pointers and grabbed 13 rebounds. Carman had nine boards and Buehler made three steals.

The Falcons handled the Mayville Cardinals in a lopsided 71-46 victory to open the WIAA Division 2 regional playoffs Tuesday, March 9, in Sheboygan Falls.

Falls started off on the game with a 16-6 lead and never looked back against an undersized Cardinals’ team, which had only one player over 5-foot, 5-inches tall.

The Falcons hit three 3-pointers in the quarter on long-range shots from Buehler, Hasler and Milne.

A 25-point offensive team effort by the Falcons buried Mayville in the second quarter, as the Cardinals weren’t able to match-up. Leffin and Carman combined for 20 first-half points to lift the Falcons to a 41-27 halftime lead.

Mayville didn’t have any answers for the Falcons offensive machine. Six different players scored in the third period, as Falls put the game away, with an 18-5 run. Falls shot 45 percent from the floor (28-of-63).

Leffin and Carman both totaled 16 points to lead all scorers for the Falcons. Buehler added 10 points, while Hasler and Quirt put in eight points each. Amanda Smith scored 12 points and Danielle Case had 11 points for the Cardinals.

GIRLS
BASKETBALL
PLYMOUTH
	28
SHEBOYGAN
FALLS 55

Scoring by Quarters
Plymouth……………...10 7 8 3 - 28
Sheboygan Falls……14 10 20 11 - 55
Plymouth scorers: Kaitlyn Hoffman 11, Amanda Gumm 5, Lizzy Stancyzk 4, Chrissy Perl 4, Emily Cecka 4.
Sheboygan Falls scorers: Alyse Hucke 2, Cassie Quirt 8, Abby Debbink 3, Brooke Buehler 9, Emilie Leffin 8, Staci
Hasler 13, Lauren Carman 7, Amanda Milne 5.
Three-point goals: Plymouth –Hoffman, Cecka. Sheboygan Falls – Hasler, Buehler, Quirt 2, Debbink, Milne.
Statistics: Plymouth – field goals 10-42 (24 percent), free throws 6-17 (35 percent), rebounds 28, turnovers 18.
Sheboygan Falls – field goals 22-51 (43 percent), free throws 5-10 (50 percent), rebounds 42, turnovers 20.

MAYVILLE
	46
SHEBOYGAN
FALLS 55

Score by Quarters
Mayville………..……13 14 5 14 - 46
Sheboygan Falls…16 25 18 12 - 71
Mayville scorers: Jenna Nehls 2, Holli Schuett 3, Jasmin Bednar 2, Amanda Smith 12, Tonya Kollmansberger 2,
Shannon Wagner 4, Danielle Case 11, Kate Bemis 10.
Sheboygan Falls scorers: Alyse Hucke 2, Cassie Quirt 8, Chelsea Powers 3, Abby Debbink 2. Brooke Buehler 10,
Emilie Leffin 16, Staci Hasler 8, Emily Thomack 3, Lauren Carman 16, Amanda Milne 3.
Three-points goals: Mayville –Smith 2, Schuett, Case, Bemis 2. Sheboygan Falls – Buehler, Hasler 2, Milne.
Statistics: Mayville – field goals 18-77 (23 percent), free throws 2-4 (50 percent), rebounds 41, turnovers 17.
Sheboygan Falls – field goals 24-52 (45 percent), free throws 11-20 (55 percent), rebounds ___________________________ 31, turnovers 14.