Thirty wins over the past two seasons have helped put the Marion/Tigerton girls basketball team on the map.
Although the Thundercatz’ season ended Feb. 24 with a 62-38 loss to Iola-Scandinavia in the opening round of the WIAA state tournament, coach Ben Livingood is convinced his team is headed in the right direction.
Marion/Tigerton entered its Division 4 regional matchup as a No. 9 seed with a 15-8 overall record, while the Thunderbirds received a No. 8 seed and hosted the game.
The Thundercatz never led after Iola-Scandinavia scored the first seven points, led by as many as 16 and took a 35-21 lead into the locker room at halftime.
“We were missing two starters tonight, which hurt,” Livingood said. “They’re two of our stronger, bigger players, and we definitely got outmatched in size. We had freshmen playing really meaningful minutes.”
The Thunderbirds opened the second half with a 14-3 run to take their biggest lead, 29-24.
“We started the second half with four or five straight turnovers,” Livingood said. “Their press made it tough. We were just a little undermatched with size, and they had a ton of seniors with experience. We didn’t make the passes we needed to, and they were getting fast break buckets. I don’t know how many threes they missed, but it didn’t feel like enough.”
All 12 Thunderbirds scored in the game, while only four Marion/Tigerton players made it into the scoring column. Caitlin Keller and Julia James led the Thundercatz with 14 and 13 points, respectively, while Brylee Jueds led Iola-Scandinavia with 10.
This year’s Thundercatz roster included three Tigerton players: Mya Smith, Jaelyn Brady and Emily Rich.
“This is our second year of doing it, and it’s been great,” Livingood said of the co-op between Marion and Tigerton high schools. “You wouldn’t even notice that they’re from different schools. They gelled instantly. We had really good senior leadership and a lot of great plays from our captains and getting our young girls ready, which we ended up needing with the injuries we had this season.”
The Thundercatz followed last season’s 15-10 mark with a 15-9 record this season.
“A two-year stretch of 30 wins hasn’t happened in a very, very long time for this program,” Livingood said. “It means a lot, because they deserve it, too. You see the work that they put in. They deserve big crowds and people coming out to watch them. It’s tough because we had three different teams on our schedule cancel their seasons with Bowler, White Lake and Tri-County.”
With Bowler and White Lake calling off their seasons, the Central Wisconsin Conference-North only had three teams in Marion/Tigerton, Gresham and Northland Lutheran. The Thundercatz finished 3-1 in conference play after beating Gresham twice and splitting a pair of games with Northland Lutheran. Marion/Tigerton and Northland Lutheran ended up sharing the CWC-North championship.
“I want to see the sport grow, especially for these girls,” Livingood said. “They’re great athletes, and they’re fun to watch.”
Senior Caitlin Keller led Marion/Tigerton with 14 points in the first round of the WIAA state tournament. (Greg Seubert)
Julia James brings the ball up the court for Marion/Tigerton against Iola-Scandinavia. (Greg Seubert)
Marion/Tigerton’s Mya Smith guards Iola-Scandinavia’s Braelyn Jueds. (Greg Seubert)
