Polar Bears to host De Pere
By Greg Seubert
Moving up a division for this year’s WIAA state girls’ basketball tournament was not a problem for the Hortonville Polar Bears.
The Polar Bears are still alive in the tournament after winning a regional championship Feb. 13 with a 75-51 win over top-seeded Wausau West on the Warriors’ home court. Hortonville, a No. 2 seed, also opened tournament play Feb. 12 with a 54-28 home win over Stevens Point.
Hortonville, also a No. 2 seed in its sectional, will now host third seeded De Pere at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 18, in a sectional semifinal. The winner will then face No. 1 Hudson or No. 4 Wisconsin Rapids at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 20, for a sectional championship with a trip to state up for grabs.
Hortonville 75, Wausau West 51
Hortonville came into its matchup with Wausau West with a 15-8 record, while the Warriors, fresh off of a Wisconsin Valley Conference championship, had a 16-1 mark.
The lead changed hands nine times in the first half before a 15-4 run gave the Polar Bears a 30-18 lead shortly before halftime. The Warriors trailed 34-23 at the break and never got any closer in the second half.
“It demonstrated a lot of toughness on our part,” coach Celeste Ratka said. “It also showed our growth. We’ve had to really had to grow this season and had a lot of people thrown into the fire right away.
“We have quite a bit of youth,” she said. “The majority of our team played eighth-grade or JV basketball last year. The schedule we had the opportunity to play has prepared us and we’re playing our best basketball right now.”
Much of the credit goes to juniors Kami Peppler and Lyric Johnson, players on last season’s team that led the Polar Bears to a sectional championship, according to Ratka.
“Kami and Lyric really set the tone for our team,” she said. “Lyric is by far the best defender I’ve ever coached. The way she was able to neutralize a really good player in (Kiley) Deaton just shows her talent.”
The Warriors held Peppler to six points in the first half, but she scored 15 in the second half to share the scoring lead with her sister, Kallie, with 21 points. Johnson also chipped in with 13 points.
Grace Michalske led the Warriors with 14 points, but Hortonville held Deaton, who came into the game averaging nearly 21 points a contest, to five.
“They’re amazing kids and work their tails off every day,” Ratka said. “I’m able to coach them extremely hard and that’s why they continue to grow and get better. They have great parents at home that tell them the right things and it’s an amazing culture that we get to coach in and be a part of. The kids really embrace it.”
Hortonville 54, Stevens Point 28
Hortonville led 31-15 at halftime and outscored the Panthers 23-13 in the second half.
Johnson and Kallie Peppler led the Polar Bears with 17 and 10 points, respectively, while Tahlia Moe led Stevens Point with nine.