Laconia High School girls basketball outlasts Oostburg in overtime on opening night

ROSENDALE - The defending Division 4 state champion Laconia Spartans opened their 2023-24 season with a grind-it-out, come-from-behind overtime victory against the Oostburg Lady Dutch, 82-78.

Senior Kaylee Taplin set the tone immediately for the Spartans, scoring the game's first points by draining a three-point basket - one of 11 total makes from beyond the arc as a team for Laconia.

Oostburg fell behind by double-digits early but managed to take their first lead, 23-22, midway through the first half and held a 39-37 advantage at the break. The Lady Dutch then led by as many as nine points at the halfway mark in the second period, but the defending champs proved their mettle by climbing back to retake the lead, 59-57 with 5:45 to go.

The two teams fought back and forth in an exciting, intense battle, ultimately needing an overtime period to determine a winner. The Spartans outlasted Oostburg in the final few minutes to claim victory and begin their new season the same way the last one ended, in the winning column.

Junior Tierney Madigan led Laconia with 13 points at the half and finished with a team-high 22 for the game. Fellow junior Payton Morgan added 17 points and freshman Finley Morgan made her varsity debut with 10 points to round out the scoring leaders for the Spartans.

Oostburg 39 29 10 - 78

Laconia 37 31 14 - 82

Oostburg: Wisse 17, Soerens 8, R. Ketterhagen 16, A. Ketterhagen 20, Ternes 12, Steinbock 2, VanEss 3. 3-pt: R. Ketterhagen, A. Ketterhagen 2, Ternes 2. FT: 22-26. Fouls: 23.

Laconia: Engel 7, Duel 9, Madigan 22, VandeBerg 7, Taplin 3, Leonard 7, P. Morgan 17, F. Morgan 10. 3-pt: Engel, VandeBerg, Taplin, Leonard, P. Morgan 5, F. Morgan 2. FT: 11-25. Fouls: 23.

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Winnebago Lutheran 62, Oakfield 58

OAKFIELD - In the 2023-24 season opener for both teams, WLA came out on top of a close, hard-fought battle throughout against the Oaks.

The Vikings got off to a hot start and led by double digits early; however, Oakfield fought back to tie the game at 32 by the break. Lindsey Nell and Anna Trewin each scored 10 first-half points to pace WLA and Stella Hofman had 14.

The second half remained close with each team taking small leads and the game was tied several times. Abby Cole ultimately sealed the win for WLA by sinking a pair of free throws with 16 seconds remaining, allowing the Vikings to pull out the victory.

Nell led WLA in scoring with 22 points on 9-of-16 shooting while also grabbing six rebounds and five steals and Cole finished with a double-double (16 points, 12 rebounds) and a team-high four assists. Trewin rounded out the scoring leaders for the Vikings with 12 points, making six of her 11 shots.

Stella and Jorga Hofman each paced the Oaks in scoring with 20 points apiece and Stella Hofman also recorded a double-double by grabbing 12 rebounds.

WLA 32 30 - 62

Oakfield 32 26 - 58

WLA: Nell 22, Cole 16, Trewin 12, Suprenand 6, Wolf 2, Davies 2, Petrowitz 2. 3-pt: Suprenand 2, Cole. FT: 7-8. Fouls: 12.

Oakfield: S. Hofman 20, J. Hofman 20, Liebenow 8, Lamonska 4, Sabel 2, Flury 2, Rothering 2. FT: 3- . Fouls: 14.

North Fond du Lac 63, Ripon 56

RIPON - It was a tale of two halves on opening night for North Fondy and the Tigers as Ripon led by 12 at the break but the Orioles turned the tables from there on out.

Allison Now led the comeback for North Fondy, finishing with a team-high 25 points and three steals, and Aline Mastelic recorded a double-double with 15 points, 10 rebounds along with three blocks. Lily Heidl added 10 points for the Orioles.

Karsyn Bauman scored a game-high 31 points to lead the Tigers and Ellerie Rost tacked on 11 for Ripon.

NFDL 22 41 – 63

Ripon 34 22 – 56

NFDL: Heidl 10, Now 25, Krupp 4, Stettbacher 8, Ayala 1, Mastelic 15. 3-pt: Now. FT: 16-24. Fouls: 11.

Ripon: Carlson 4, A. Brooks 8, Nodolf 2, Rost 11, Bauman 31. 3-pt: A. Brooks 2, Rost 2, Bauman 2. FT: 10-14. Fouls: 19.

St. Mary's Springs 53, Howards Grove 49

HOWARDS GROVE - The Ledgers prevailed in their 2023-24 season opener after jumping out to an 11-5 lead to start the game. Senior Ellie Judkins, who missed all of the previous season with an ACL injury, scored 12 points with five steals and three assists to lead Springs in the victory.

Grace Coon added 11 points and six rebounds for the Ledgers. Anna Willis grabed a team-high seven rebounds and Gracie Konkol had three steals and three assists.

St. Mary's Springs: Judkins 12, Coon 11, Konkol 9, Lewis 8, Baker 6, Loynes 4, Willis 2, Kremer 1. 3-pt: Judkins, Coon, Konkol 2, Baker. FT: 14-22.

Howards Grove: Schumacher 15, Vandoske 13, Carmody 11, Stoeckigt 6, Cassity 2, Barnoski 2. 3-pt: Schumacher 2, Vandoske 4. FT: 9-13.

Berlin 64, Princeton/Green Lake 45

GREEN LAKE - Berlin opened the 2023-24 season with a convincing victory over the Tigersharks, pulling away in the second half after leading by four at the break.

Jane Hoffman and Callie Kurczek each finished with a team-high 14 points to lead Berlin and Emma Boegh added 10 points to round out the scoring leaders.

Berlin 21 43 – 64

Princeton/Green Lake 17 28 – 45

Berlin: Johnson 2, Sobieski 1, C. Bartol 2, Boegh 10, Hoffman 14, Kurczek 14. 3-pt: Boegh 2, Hoffman 2. FT: 17-28.

Menasha 46, Winneconne 44

MENASHA - Hannah Neubert scored 10 of her 18 points in the first half and Rayanna Jenkins added four three-pointers, finishing with 16 points, in the Bluejays’ narrow victory over the Wolves.

Winneconne was led by Grace Mitchell with 17 points. Taylor Rogers and Millie Braman each added 10 apiece.

Winneconne 21 23 - 44

Menasha 23 23 - 46

Winneconne: Kaiser 2, Rogers 10, Schaffer 4, Braman 10, Knobloch 1, Mitchell 17. 3-pt: Mitchell 3. FT: 1-3. Fouls: 17.

Menasha: Jenkins 16, Robinson 4, Bilke 3, Neubert 18, Mohr 5. 3-pt: Jenkins 4, Mohr. FT: 13-18. Fouls: 9.

Xavier 82, Omro 26

OMRO - Carsyn Stempa scored 22 points, Elle Krull chipped in 13 and Molly Martine had 11 as the Hawks rolled to a 41-16 halftime lead over the Foxes and never looked back in the season opener for both teams.

Madi Brooks led Omro with 12 points.

Xavier 41 41 – 82

Omro 16 10 – 26

Xavier: Standish 9, J. Krull 4, VandeHey 6, Martine 11, E. Krull 13, Tylinski 6, Hafner 4, Heimann 7, Stempa 22. 3-pt: Standish, Martine 3, E. Krull, Heimann, Stempa. FT: 9-17. Fouls: 13.

Omro: Carter 3, Johnston 2, King 6, J. Koch 1, Brooks 12, Sell 2. 3-pt: King 2. FT: 6-13. Fouls: 14.

Central Wisconsin Christian 54, Montello 28

MONTELLO - Samantha Braskamp scored 10 of her team-high 16 points in the first half with four assists and five steals and Taylor Hoffman added 10 points, six rebounds, three assists and five steals for the Crusaders in their opening night victory over the Hilltoppers.

Tabitha Buwalda also had a solid all-around game for CWC with eight points, eight rebounds, three assists and four steals.

CWC 35 19 - 54

CWC: Buwalda 8, DeVries 6, Hoffman 10, Beer 4, Bos 2, Braskamp 16, Zuhlke 8. 3-pt: Hoffman 3, Beer, Braskamp 4, Zuhlke 2. FT: 10-17. Fouls: 5.

Ozaukee 57, Campbellsport 39

FREDONIA - Trailing by only four at the break, the Cougars dropped their season-opener to the Warriors after being outscored by 14 in the second half.

Lilli Twohig scored a team-high 15 points for Campbellsport along with five rebounds and three steals. Gabi Danza followed with eight points and eight rebounds. The duo of Maddy Smith (11) and Josie Twohig (nine) combined for 20 rebounds.

Caitlyn Weyker posted a double-double for Ozaukee with a game-high 20 points and 17 rebounds, along with six assists, five blocks, and four steals. Ellie Rodgers added 16 points, five rebounds, and two steals. Savannah Quade tallied 13 points, seven boards and five assists. Meredith Clark had a team-high six steals.

Campbellsport 22 17 - 39

Ozaukee 26 31 - 57

Campbellsport: Danza 8, L. Twohig 15, Helsell 1, Sabish 2, Rohlfs 3, Smith 2, Beck-Sabish 2, Lavernz 6. 3-pt: L. Twohig. FT: 10-18. Fouls: 13.

Ozaukee: Rodgers 16, Weyker 20, Quade 13, Kirmse 8. 3-pt: Rodgers 4, Weyker 2, Quade. FT: 5-11.

To contact Lance LeQue, email him at LLeQue@gannett.com or follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @LanceLeQue.

This article originally appeared on Fond du Lac Reporter: Fond du Lac/Oshkosh area high school girls basketball roundup 11-14-23