Even when Crandon got within three points with under two minutes to go in Friday’s WIAA Division 4 regional semifinal, the Bonduel High School girls basketball team did not panic.
The third-seeded Bears (19-4, 12-2 Central Wisconsin Conference-8) — led by junior Jennifer Dowden’s 30 points — closed the door with authority to secure the 67-57 victory and advance to a regional final game Saturday against No. 2 Oconto.
No. 6 Crandon (16-6, 12-2 Northern Lakes) pulled to within 60-57 with 1:30 left on the clock, but the Bears were having none of it. On their next possession, freshman Danee Collier drove a lane for a layup. Then the Bears created a turnover and Dowden, a junior forward, drove for a basket and drew the foul.
Dowden, who went over 1,000 career points in the Bears’ season-finale win over Iola-Scandinavia, went to the line and completed the 3-point play. In the game’s final seconds she’d drain two more free throws and finished the game 13-14 from the line. Eleven of her 30 points came in the fourth quarter as the Bears protected the small lead they maintained through most of the game.
“When they got that 3, you know it’s close, but it’s not something you really worry about it,” Dowden said. “We knew we could handle it. We’ve been in those situations almost every game this season. We always get that. We were just patient, we didn’t panic. We’ve gotten really good with that over the season.”
Despite her 30 points, the 6-foot forward was quick to point out the win was a team effort.
“Everyone is so confident in each other,” Dowden said. “It’s a team effort all the way.”
Bonduel coach Missy Dowden, Jennifer’s mother, was impressed with the offensive play of her team Friday.
“Sixty-seven points, we don’t hit that very often,” she said. “It was a battle.”
The Bears, the CWC-8 co-champions, were up 9-4 midway through the first quarter. Crandon would not catch up until about a minute into the second quarter when Sara Cottrell drained a 3 to give the Cardinals a 15-14 lead.
The Bears were back up 31-24 by halftime, getting a pair of key 3-pointers from junior Dea Zernicke and a pair of inside buckets from sophomore Taylor Weier.
With about 6 minutes left in the game, Crandon managed to get within two, 54-52, when senior Cassidy Neilitz drained a 3-pointer, but Bonduel answered with a 3-pointer by junior Lexi Reinke.
Weier finished with 14 points, and Reinke had 10.
Morgan Sorenson lead the Bears on the boards with nine rebounds. Dowden finished with seven rebounds, in addition to five assists, four blocks and five steals.
Cottrell led Crandon with 15 points. Celia Space added 12, and Amira Erdmann and Neilitz both finished with 10 each.
Facing No. 2 Oconto, which beat No. 7 Stratford on Friday in Oconto, will be a tough test for the Bears.
“I know they have Laken James; she’s really good,” Jennifer Dowden said. “We’ll have to step up our defense. We’ll be all right.”
Crandon (57)
Ostrowski 2 1-2 5, Perry 0 3-4 3, Cottrell 5 4-6 15, Space 3 6-6 12, Erdmann 4 2-5 10, Sulaimon 0 2-2 2, Neilitz 3 2-2 10
Bonduel (67)
Dowden 8 13-14 30, Reinke 4 0-0 10, Weier 6 2-5 14, Zernicke 2 0-1 6, M. Sorenson 2 0-3 4, Pues 0 1-2 1, Collier 1 0-0 2
Crandon 10 14 15 18 — 57
Bonduel 12 19 18 18 — 67
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