Appleton East girls basketball downs Eau Claire Memorial in double overtime to capture WIAA Division 1 sectional title

By Paul Lecker
AppletonSportsPage.com

MARSHFIELD – The magical run for the Appleton East girls basketball team has the Patriots back at the state tournament for the first time in three years.

After a thrilling, buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Ella Sweeney gave the Patriots a heart-stopping sectional semifinal win over No. 2 seed Stevens Point on Thursday, No. 6 seed East was all about the drama again Saturday in a WIAA Division 1 sectional final against top-seed Eau Claire Memorial.

Ava Schwan’s twisting lay-in with one minute in the second overtime period proved to be the game-winner as Appleton East earned a hard-fought 68-65 win at Marshfield High School, earning the Patriots their fourth state tournament appearance in program history.

Appleton East (19-8) will play a Division 1 semifinal against Fox Valley Association rival Kimberly (27-1) at the 2025 WIAA State Girls Basketball Tournament at the Resch Center in Green Bay on Friday at 6:30 p.m.

“We’ve always talked about how we’ve been battle-tested,” Appleton East coach Brian Paschen said. “Until that final horn blows, these girls won’t quit. They believe in each other and it’s not a matter of who gets it, they just want to get there. I can’t think of a more deserving group of kids.”

Appleton East led by as many as 12 early in the second half. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Torie Neubauer and Lilly Meulemans, and a basket by Sweeney put the Patriots on top 39-27 with 15 minutes remaining.

Memorial (25-3) was not about to quit, quickly cutting East’s lead to five on consecutive 3-pointers by Ava Hoitomt, only to see East go back up by nine.

After another Sweeney hoop, East led 49-42 midway through the second half before Memorial seized control.

The Old Abes ripped upp 10-straight points, including a banked-in 3-pointer by Norah Kling, to take a 52-49 lead with six minutes left.

East fought back as two baskets by Aubrie Erickson sandwiched a hoop from Ella Jazdzewski, and the Patriots led 57-54 with 58 seconds to go.

Lydia Paulmier quickly tied it with a 3-pointer from the right sideline for the Old Abes, and East’s shot in the final seconds missed, putting the Patriots in overtime for the second-consecutive time in the playoffs.

Memorial led for most of the first overtime, going up 63-59 on a hoop by Kling with 42 seconds left.

But the Old Abes could not close out the game at the free throw line, missing three attempts in the closing seconds, opening the door for Appleton East.

A basket by Meuelmans, who had a team-high 20 points, and two free throws from Sweeney tied the game, and this time Memorial had a chance to win it at the buzzer, but also missed and a second overtime was on the horizon.

After Memorial scored on two free throws, East finished off the final two minutes with five unanswered points to snag the victory.

A driving basket by the 5-foot Schwan, her only hoop of the game, put East on top 67-65 with one minute left. Memorial turned the ball over for the second time in a row and Jenna Ott connected on one of two at the line to up the Patriots’ lead to three with 16 seconds left.

Following a timeout, Memorial had a chance to tie it with a 3, but the East defense was in the faces of the Old Abes and a heave at the buzzer missed, setting off another celebration for the Patriots.

“Everyone else was maybe surprised by it (Schwan’s shot), but we see it a lot,” Paschen said. “She plays much bigger than her size, and as a senior, she didn’t want to go home. It’s fantastic.”

The Patriots overcame an 0-4 start to the season by winning 16 of their final 18 games, which included three in a row in the playoffs against the top three seeds in the sectional.

“We just wanted to build a culture and get the program back rolling,” Paschen said. “We got there, then it was like let’s take the next step, and the next step. We’re loving it.”

Neubauer added 16 points and six rebounds, and Sweeney finished with 15 points as well for Appleton East.

Rayna Welsch had 20 points and 13 rebounds, and Kling knocked down 14 points in the loss for the Old Abes.

Patriots 68, Old Abes 65 (2 OT)
Appleton East   26   31   6   5   –   68
Eau Claire Memorial   21   36   6   2   –   65
APPLETON EAST (68): Ava Schwan 1-3 0-0 2, Jenna Ott 0-2 3-4 3, Aubrie Erickson 3-4 0-0 6, Lilly Meulemans 8-18 0-1 20, Torie Neubauer 7-12 0-1 16, Emilia MontMarquette 1-4 0-0 2, Ella Sweeney 4-9 7-7 15, Ella Jazdzewski 2-4 0-0 4. FG: 26-56. FT: 10-13. 3-pointers: 6-19 (Meulemans 4-9, Neubauer 2-4, Erickson 0-1, MontMarquette 0-1, Schwan 0-2, Ott 0-2, Sweeney 0-2). Rebounds: 20 (Neubauer 6). Turnovers: 10. Fouls: 16. Fouled out: Jazdzewski, MontMarquette. Record: 19-8.
EAU CLAIRE MEMORIAL (65): Raya Shaw 1-6 0-1 3, Norah Kling 6-18 2-4 14, Marlee Ferguson 2-3 0-0 5, Ashlynn Schroeder 2-2 1-4 5, Cora Graham 0-0 0-0 0, Lydia Paulmier 2-5 3-5 9, Ava Hoitomt 3-5 0-0 9, Meredith Adams 0-1 0-0 0, Rayna Welsch 6-11 8-10 20. FG: 22-51. FT: 14-24. 3-pointers: 7-15 (Hoitomt 3-5, Paulmier 2-5, Ferguson 1-1, Shaw 1-3, Kling 0-1). Rebounds: 38 (Welsch 13). Turnovers: 18. Fouls: 16. Fouled out: none. Record: 25-3.