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"We had a good week of intense practice. We took some steps forward last week and I thought we were ready for Saturday night," said Mineral Point girls basketball coach Mitch Wainwright.
What his Pointer squad found out, however, is that very few teams can truly be ready for the onslaught that potentially comes with Cuba City basketball in the postseason.
Mineral Point found itself down 22-6 to end the first quarter and couldn't crawl back before falling 75-47 in the WIAA Division 4 regional final to the defending state champions.
"We were ahead 1-0, but then we suffered turnovers on our next several possessions and they made us pay with points as they hit some threes early as well," added the coach.
Jessi Marti hit for 10 first quarter points, including a three, and teammates Shay Lierman and Morgan Vosberg also hit from long range.
The second quarter was more balanced, but it was Lierman that got hot for the Cubans in the frame, tallying 11 points.
"We were able to settle in a bit, but we hardly had any offensive boards on the night," said the coach. "It was one and done for us--if we missed our first shot, we didn't get another."
"Cuba City had great balance and shot something like 65% as a team from the field, which is impressive. We knew it was going to be a battle, and to have to play them at home where they are comfortable, and then get them on a hot night, it was a lethal combination. It was a physical game, but we handled it well for the most part," said Wainwright. "We just got in too deep a hole to start the game, but we battled until the end."
Marti led all scorers with 22 points with Mollie Wedige right behind her with 20. Lierman added 14.
Clara Chambers was the top Pointer with 18 as Sydney Staver tossed in 13.
Cuba City improved to 24-0 with the win.
Mineral Point concluded the 2014-15 season with a 19-5 record, 12-2 in the SWAL, which was good for second place behind Cuba City. Besides the three losses to the #1 ranked Cubans, the Pointers only lost two other games--one to Dodgeville and one to Barneveld, which each were ranked at the top of their respective divisions. All three of those teams won regional championships.
"I'm very proud of this season and these kids. They overcame obstacles with injuries and illness and responded well. I saw tremendous growth throughout the year," concluded the coach.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
MP: 6-15-13-13--47
CC: 22-18-16-19--75
BOX SCORE
MINERAL POINT (fg-ft-tp) 47: Staver 4-3/4-13, Kruser 0-2/3-2, Chambers 8-2/2-18, Schultz 3-1/3-7, Aschliman 1-0-3, Qualley 0-2/2-2, Schmitz 1-0-2. Totals: 17-10/14-47. Fouls: 17. Three pointers: Staver 2, Aschliman 1.
CUBA CITY 75: Jones 0-1/2-1, Marti 8-4/6-22, Pustina 4-1/1-9, Lierman 5-0/1-14, Kaiser 1-0-2, Vosberg 2-1/2-7, Wedige 9-2/2-20. Totals: 28-9/14-75. Fouls: 12. Three pointers: Lierman 3, Marti 2, Vosberg 2.