The Marshall girls basketball team’s 2023-24 season has come to an end. The Cardinals were able to nab a win in the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) state tournament, a 74-30 win over Williams Bay in the regional opener. The run ended soon after as the Cardinals had to face the No. 1 seed, The Prairie School, and suffered an 85-49 loss.
The No. 8 seed Cardinals shot the lights out in their regional opener, which they hosted against No. 9 seed Williams Bay on Tuesday, Feb. 20. They hit 12 three point shots in total, including an incredible seven from junior Makayla Nemec. Her hot hand led her to a team-high 21 points, followed by senior Wynn Held with 15 and senior Lizet Lopez-Montes with 14.
Things were set to get significantly tougher in the next round. The Prairie School finished the regular season as the No. 2 ranked team in Division 4 in the wissports.net girls basketball coaches poll, trailing only Laconia. The Hawks won the Metro Classic conference this season with a perfect 14-0 record and finished 21-3 overall. The Hawks also entered with fresh legs after receiving a bye in the first round. Marshall made the trip to face them on Friday, Feb. 23.
A pair of Hawks in particular, senior Reese Jamarillo and junior Meg Decker, gave the Cardinals plenty of trouble. Jamarillo knocked down four three point shots on her way to an eventual game-high 24 points. Decker wasn’t far behind, with two triples of her own to help boost her to 22. Junior JJ Barnes also contributed 15 to push The Prairie School to the win.
It was only fitting that Marshall was led in scoring by its leader all season, Held. She nailed a pair of triples to lead the Cardinals with 15 points. She was one of three Cardinals to hit multiple three pointers in the game, joined by Nemec and freshman Paige Colden with two each. Fellow freshman Tori Jusmann also helped fill up the stat sheet with 13 points.
Marshall finishes the season with a 10-16 overall record. This included a 1-9 record in Capitol — South play to tie for fifth in the final standings. The loss also brings an end to the high school playing career of Marshall’s two-player senior class of Held and Lopez-Montes.
The Cardinals will be in good hands going forward. They return three starters for next year, juniors Nemec and Sydney Stuntebeck as well as sophomore Erin Rateike. Marshall was also without junior Kierstin Hoel for most of the season due to injury, who figures to be a top-level player again next season. Marshall also enjoyed breakout seasons from freshmen Justmann and Colden, who seemed comfortable at the varsity level from the start.
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