There was no springing up in bed in a cold sweat, gathering your wits and waiting for the heart to stop pounding.
This nightmare was real.
One of the most successful high school girls basketball seasons ever at Bonduel ground to a gloomy halt Saturday night, as the Bears ran into a Shiocton club that coupled a near-flawless performance with a sub-par Bonduel showing en route to a 57-45 upset win in a WIAA Division 4 regional final.
Bad bounces, missed free throws and the general solid play of the visiting Chiefs (14-10) ruled the night as the Bears, who finished 22-2, could never get untracked.
“I guess we picked a really bad night to have a bad night,” Bonduel senior guard Deanna Zernicke said.
Zernicke very nearly took her place in the spotlight as the Bears’ hero du jour. She scored all 13 of her points in the fourth quarter on a free throw and four 3-pointers, one of which brought Bonduel back to within one point after the Bears had trailed by nine minutes earlier.
But as was the case throughout the second half as the Chiefs slowly built their lead, Bonduel could only come close. The normally sharpshooting Bears hit an unremarkable 17 of 34 from the free throw line while Shiocton, who four times this season shot less than 25 percent from the stripe in losing efforts, made 30 of 44, including 22 of 33 in the fourth quarter.
“Give Shiocton credit,” Bonduel coach Missy Dowden said. “Their defense frustrated us. They had a great game plan and played a heck of a game.”
After winning by a point in double-overtime in a Friday regional semifinal, Shiocton coach Rob Hendrickson opted to take the air out of the ball on offense to preserve his team’s energy.
“Our plan was to take 45 seconds to one minute before we took a shot,” he said. “Otherwise, our legs wouldn’t be there. We didn’t want to be playing defense against them any longer than we had to. They’re such a talented, well-coached team.
“I thought (Zernicke) had an outstanding game. She’s the glue that holds that team together. Their big girls are really tough, too. This is such a huge win for us. I’ve only been here two years, but this is our biggest win ever.”
Taylor Weier hit a bucket with :02 left in the first half to bring Bonduel to within 21-20 at intermission, but the Chiefs’ deliberate attack coupled with the cold front that drifted onto the Bears’ half of the court in the third quarter gave Shiocton the opening it needed.
A basket by Emily Sorenson and a free throw by Jen Dowden (13 points, eight rebounds) were the only points the Bears would muster in that period, as Shiocton’s lead grew to 31-23.
It was 32-23 when Zernicke went off, bookending a pair of all-net treys from the left wing around a free throw, and then drilling another 3-pointer with 4:56 left that brought the Bears to within 34-33.
That was as close as Bonduel would come, though, as Shiocton’s Carmen McCarthy (19 points), Carrie McCarthy (nine points), Tina Ubl (11 points) and Jackie Korth (eight points) kept the Bears at arm’s length the rest of the way with foul shots and short jumpers after the Chiefs had solved Bonduel’s full-court pressure.
It was a difficult loss to swallow for the Bears, who tasted defeat on their home court for the first time this season, but their coach and players were able to glean some perspective on a memorable season.
“At every practice the girls were out there working hard, very receptive to what we were doing, and to any new things we put into our offense or defense,” Missy Dowden said. “I got to coach my daughter, and two of her best friends. But all of us, the whole team, we really did become like a family. It was a pleasure to coach them all year. It was fun.”
Shiocton 7 14 10 26 - 57
Bonduel 7 13 3 22 - 45
Shiocton - Morack 0 2-2 2, Carm. McCarthy 4 11-14 19, Schmidt 1 0-4 2, Carr. McCarthy 1 7-10 9, Elliott 0 0-2 0, Korth 3 1-2 8, Moder 0 4-8 4, D. Stelter 1 0-1 2, Ubl 3 5-6 11.
Bonduel - Collier 0 0-1 0, H.Sorenson 0 1-4 1, E. Sorenson 1 0-2 2, Dowden 2 9-16 13, Reinke 3 1-2 7, Weier 1 5-6 7, Pedersen 1 0-1 2, Zernicke 4 1-2 13.
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