St. Mary Catholic earns title shot in Division 4 with win over Durand-Arkansaw

ASHWAUBENON − St. Mary Catholic went a little old school in its win over Durand-Arkansaw in Thursday's WIAA Division 4 girls basketball state semifinal.

The Zephyrs were tough on defense and terrors in the paint on offense in the 58-45 victory over the Panthers at the Resch Center. St. Mary Catholic (26-3) will play Cuba City (24-5) in the D4 final Saturday at approximately 12:45 p.m.

"It's a great win and we get to go on and play Cuba City in the next one," SMC coach Jeff Chew said. "Durand did a very nice job. We were behind them to start with and they kept hitting some threes on us, but we played a lot better defensively and did a real nice job."

SMC outscored Durand-Arkansaw 44-18 in the paint with seniors Nolie Anderson and Emily Vogel doing most of the damage. Anderson finished with 24 points on 10-of-13 shooting. She also totaled 11 rebounds, including eight on offense, and had four assists. Vogel totaled 19 points and also had eight rebounds and four steals.

St. Mary Catholic High School's Emily Vogel (4) goes up for a layup against Durand-Arkansaw High School on Thursday, March 13, 2025, at the Resch Center in Ashwaubenon, Wis. St. Mary Catholic won the game, 58-45, to advance to Saturay’s championship game.
Tork Mason/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

Autumn Crowe added five steals as the Zephyrs forced 21 turnovers and had 14 steals total.

"They did a real nice job," Chew said of his team around the glass. "They hit the boards and got some rebounds and they made close (field goals), which we've been talking about. I talk about scoring around the basket, and we did a nice job tonight."

SMC had a sizable height advantage, with starters Vogel, Crowe, Anderson and Lauren Ripley all standing 5-foot-10. Durand-Arkansaw countered with one starter at 5-10 (Addison Auth).

"Going into the game we knew that our advantage would be inside. We knew we had the height advantage," Vogel said. "So me and Nolie knew that, and the whole team knew that. We did a good job of working the ball around and getting it inside to score those easy baskets."

The Zephyrs withstood an early barrage of 3-pointers from Durand-Arkansaw, which hit five in the first half to take a 21-15 lead.

That's when SMC had its first significant run, putting together a 16-2 stretch to close the half and seize momentum.

Durand-Arkansaw had two more 3-pointers to start the second half, but SMC again wrestled control away and an 11-3 run sparked by seven points from Anderson and Vogel each allowed the Zephyrs to extend their lead to 48-36.

"Those runs are obviously helpful," Anderson said. "And sometimes those TV timeouts kind of squash the momentum, but I mean it was important to get those runs and get the game and win."

SMC hit just one 3-pointer, by Crowe with 5:30 left in the game. The Zephyrs also led in second-chance points (17-6) and in points scored off turnovers (21-10).

Emma Hoyt finished with 16 points to lead Durand-Arkansaw, with Chloe Auth adding 13. Auth also had seven steals.

Cuba City, the fourth seed, knocked off top-seeded The Prairie School, 68-63.

"I think we're all pretty excited," Vogel said. "This whole week has been really exciting, getting a chance to play at state. And now knowing that we can win state, I think that's pretty cool."

Said Anderson: "This group of girls works really hard, especially being seniors we know this is our last chance. And the past four years we've had some pretty hard battles to get there, so to just finally be here and be able to prove ourselves is awesome."

St. Mary Catholic 58, Durand-Arkansaw 45

Durand-Arkansaw 23 22 - 45

St. Mary Catholic 31 27 - 58

Durand-Arkansaw: Addison Auth 5, Kurth 6, Chloe Auth 13, Hoyt 16, Sabelko 3, McMahon 2. 3-pt: C. Auth 3, Hoyt 2, A. Auth, Kurth, Sabelko. FT: 3-5. Fouls: 14.

St. Mary Catholic: Vogel 19, Anderson 24, Ripley 7, Crowe 8. 3-pt: Crowe. FT: 9-15. Fouls: 7.

This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: High school girls basketball: St. Mary Catholic wins WIAA semifinal

Topics

Marist Red Foxes and Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers square off in MAAC Tournament

Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers (19-12, 12-8 MAAC) vs. Marist Red Foxes (20-9, 13-7 MAAC) Atlantic City, New Jersey; Thursday, 8:30 p.m. EDT BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Red Foxes -1.5; over/under is ...
ABC News - 2d
Holly Talbert of Climax-Scotts is Enquirer Athlete of the Week winner for week of March 8

Holly Talbert helped Climax-Scotts win a Division 4 district title in girls basketball
Yahoo Sports - 3h
Fowler boys basketball reaches state title game with win over Allen Park Inter-City Baptist

Fowler advances to face Wyoming Tri-unity Christian in the Michigan high school boys basketball Division 3 championship game Saturday.
Yahoo Sports - 15h
No. 4 UCLA finds new tough, aggressive approach delivers Big Ten title win over No. 2 USC

Coach Cori Close challenged UCLA to arrive at the Big Ten Tournament as a tougher, more aggressive group than the one that lost to its dreaded rival, USC, last weekend
ABC News - 4d
Paige Bueckers scores 20 points, No. 3 UConn rolls into Big East semis with win over St. John’s

Paige Bueckers had 20 points to lead No. 3 UConn to a 71-40 win over St. John’s in the quarterfinals of the Big East women’s basketball tournament on Saturday.
Yahoo Sports - 5d
College basketball rankings: Gonzaga heading to its 26th straight NCAA Tournament after winning WCC title

The Zags removed any doubt about playing in the Big Dance by beating Saint Mary's to win the WCC Tournament
CBS Sports - 1d
Amorim: We 'need to help' Fernandes win titles

Ruben Amorim has said Manchester United "need to help" Bruno Fernandes win trophies after the Portuguese midfielder scored a hat trick to earn a place in the last eight of the Europa League.
ESPN - 8h
Gonzaga wins WCC tourney title, 20th under Few

Gonzaga avenged two regular-season losses to Saint Mary's, defeating the 19th-ranked Gaels 58-51 in the West Coast Conference Tournament championship on Tuesday night, the 22nd league tourney title ...
ESPN - 2d
Connor Bedard scores in overtime to lift Blackhawks to 4-3 win over Utah

Connor Bedard scored 3:10 into overtime to give the Chicago Blackhawks a 4-3 victory over the Utah Hockey Club
ABC News - 6d

St. Mary Catholic earns title shot in Division 4 with win over Durand-Arkansaw

St. Mary Catholic 58, Durand-Arkansaw 45

Topics

Related

Marist Red Foxes and Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers square off in MAAC Tournament

Holly Talbert of Climax-Scotts is Enquirer Athlete of the Week winner for week of March 8

Fowler boys basketball reaches state title game with win over Allen Park Inter-City Baptist

No. 4 UCLA finds new tough, aggressive approach delivers Big Ten title win over No. 2 USC

Paige Bueckers scores 20 points, No. 3 UConn rolls into Big East semis with win over St. John’s

College basketball rankings: Gonzaga heading to its 26th straight NCAA Tournament after winning WCC title

Amorim: We 'need to help' Fernandes win titles

Gonzaga wins WCC tourney title, 20th under Few

Connor Bedard scores in overtime to lift Blackhawks to 4-3 win over Utah

More from Yahoo Sports

Cowboys Beef: DeMarcus Lawrence vs Micah Parsons Breakdown + NFL Free Agency Winners & Losers | Inside Coverage

As Cooper Kupp decision nears, 2 teams seem to be front runners

The Bearcat Tip Off Talk Podcast: Cole Baughman

After struggling in Hong Kong because he might've had 'a rib out,' Dustin Johnson rallies

Jordan Reid: Tennessee Titans most likely to draft a quarterback in Round 1

More in Sports

Cowboys Beef: DeMarcus Lawrence vs Micah Parsons Breakdown + NFL Free Agency Winners & Losers | Inside Coverage

As Cooper Kupp decision nears, 2 teams seem to be front runners

The Bearcat Tip Off Talk Podcast: Cole Baughman

After struggling in Hong Kong because he might've had 'a rib out,' Dustin Johnson rallies

Jordan Reid: Tennessee Titans most likely to draft a quarterback in Round 1