Ashlynn Brisk came up big for the Bowler High School girls basketball team in the first round of the WIAA Division 5 regional Tuesday in Bowler, just as she has all season.
Brisk, a junior guard, notched her eighth triple-double of the season in a 41-37 win over Tigerton, recording 17 points, 12 rebounds and 10 steals, and five assists.
With the win, Bowler will advance to the regional semifinal Friday at top-seeded Marion (20-2, 17-1 Central Wisconsin Conference-10), which blew out No. 8 Gresham (1-21, 1-16 CWC-10) 45-13 Tuesday.
Brisk’s 10th steal came with just 20 seconds left in the game and the fourth-seeded Panthers (11-9, 7-8 CWC-10) protecting a 39-37 lead. She made for the basket but was fouled before she could get off a shot. On the inbounds play, Brisk scored a bucket to put the game out of reach.
“She’s just an all-around fantastic basketball player,” Bowler coach AJ Miller said. “She has more heart than anyone I’ve seen on a basketball court.”
“I expected us to show up and we didn’t tonight,” Tigerton coach Jenny Korth said. “We were a little off. We couldn’t get our buckets to fall. Erin (Robbins) is usually a big part of our scoring and her 3s weren’t hitting in the first half. That hurt us.”
Bowler prepared for Tigerton’s perimeter shooters, Robbins and Emily Wendt, who hurt the Panthers in a 55-43 loss earlier in the season.
Robbins was held to just two 3s and eight points. Wendt had one 3 and also scored 8 points.
“Our plan was to defend the 3,” Miller said. “The last time they played us, I thought they shot an unrealistic percentage to beat us. Tonight, they still shot pretty well, but we did what we had to do to win tonight.”
The two teams battled evenly through the first quarter, separated only by a buzzer-beating 3 by Bowler freshman Taylor Matsche. Another Bowler freshman, forward Brooke Breitrick, scored six of her 10 points in the first quarter. She also had eight rebounds.
In the second quarter, Bowler pulled ahead with an 11-3 run, but Tigerton (4-14, 3-11 CWC-10) responded after halftime with an 11-3 run of its own. Tigerton tied the game at 31-31 in the fourth quarter on a layup by Katie Watters, who led the Tigers with 10 points.
Brisk and Kristina Koenig, also a junior, have led Bowler all season.
“Koenig has fantastic leadership skills,” Miller said. “She wanted that game bad and she put her head down and got it. She’s never really is in the stat line for a lot of points or anything, she just works hard.”
Korth praised Brisk’s play as well.
“She works for her points, she doesn’t get lucky,” Korth said. “She’s busting her rear end to get them points the whole game. … In my book, she is as good as the stats say.”
Tigerton (37)
Robbins 3 0-0 8, Bailey 2 0-3 4, Desrochers 2 0-0 4, Wendt 3 1-2 8, Watters 5 0-2 10, Gauthier 1 1-3 3
Bowler (41)
Matsche 2 0-0 6, Brisk 5 4-8 17, Koenig 1 1-5 3, Malone 1 0-0 2, Breitrick 5 0-0 10, Wayka 1 0-1 3
Tigerton 10 3 11 13 — 37
Bowler 13 11 3 14 — 41
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