Avery Poppe’s 3-point shot from the corner beat the game-ending buzzer and lifted the Hayward Hurricanes girls basketball team to a 47-44 upset over previously-unbeaten St. Croix Falls Friday night Feb. 9 at the Robert J. Schmidt Gym in Hayward.
The Saints held the lead much of the first half, and were up 18-17 at halftime.
In the second half, the lead changed hands several times. Consecutive 3-pointers by Hailey Waystedt and Avery Poppe, a pair of free throws by Greta Schmitt and a steal and layup by Madi Bergschneider put the Canes ahead 39-31 with 4:00 to play. The Saints fought back to a 39-39 tie with 1:47 to go.
At 1:31, Schmitt hit two free throws to put the Canes up 41-39. She made three more free throws with less than 35 seconds to play to give the Canes a 44-41 lead.
With just seven seconds to play, the Saints hit a 3-pointer to tie the contest at 44-44. That set the stage for Poppe’s game-winning shot just before the final buzzer.
Avery Poppe had 19 points and Greta Schmitt had 18 points to lead the Hurricanes. A loud student crowd boosted the Canes throughout the game, which had an intense, playoff-like atmosphere.
The Hurricanes improved their record to 13-4 in the conference and to 16-7 overall. The Saints, who had previously clinched the Heart O’ North season title, fell to 16-1 in league play.
“Friday was a great win for us,” said Coach Joe Brennan. “The girls played well —I thought they were engaged and executed the game plan well. Defensively, we took away open looks on the perimeter for their guards and we were able to focus on making things difficult for them inside. “Grace Schmidt did a really nice job being physical and taking away space from Kelsey Cooper. I thought our help side did a nice job of anticipating and taking away passing angles for them to get it inside as well. Our perimeter defenders put a lot of ball pressure on their guards so they weren’t able to see the floor as well or get too many open looks.
“We made plays offensively when we needed to. We made some timely shots from the perimeter; Avery Poppe, Hailey Waystedt, and Grace Schmidt all hit some big shots from 15 feet, plus. Greta did a nice job handling the basketball, controlling the tempo, and getting to the free throw line. She had five assists, the biggest coming on the last possession to get it to Avery Poppe for the game winner.
“I’m really proud of the way we responded to adversity throughout the game,” the coach added. “There were times when things got a little shaky, but we were able to keep things steady enough to put ourselves in position to win late. Avery Chucka made a great entry pass to Greta on the last possession, which allowed her to get down the floor quickly. Our screeners —Grace and Madi Bergschnieder—did a good job of staying set and getting a piece of Greta’s defender. Greta found Avery and Avery was ready for the moment. It was fun to see our kids come out on the winning side of a tight game against a quality opponent like St. Croix Falls. Our bench was great all game, from kids coming in and making plays, whether it was handling the ball, knocking down shots, or communicating on the bench, those are all really valuable details in a tight game.
“A big key for us that ultimately helped determine the outcome was shooting free throws well. We finished the game shooting 75% from the line. Greta was a big part in that, going 10/12. It was a really good high school basketball game. The atmosphere was great and it’s something you want for your kids as they enter tournament play. We hope to continue building momentum towards playing our best basketball when we need to.
Looking ahead to the playoffs, in which Hayward will travel to Mosinee on Feb. 23, Brenan said “I think we’re okay with the five-seed. Getting a first round bye and having an extra couple days to prepare gives us an advantage going into next week. I think it allows you to clean things up this week and really put together your game plan next week for Mosinee. The 4/5 game is typically a close game, so I hope our experience in tight games throughout the season helps us. I think our group will be excited to play the next two weeks.”
The Canes will finish their regular season at Ladysmith Thursday Feb. 15.
Heart O’ North girls basketball standings: St. Croix Falls, 16-1; Hayward, 13-4; Barron, 13-4; Cameron, 13-4; Northwestern, 11-6; Ashland, 5-12; Spooner, 5-12; Ladysmith, 4-13; Cumberland, 0-17.
Hayward 17 30 — 47
St. Croix Falls 18 26 — 44
Hayward: FG-FT/A-PF-TP: Avery Poppe, 8-1/2-1-19; Greta Schmitt, 3-10/12-2-18; Alivia Poppe, 1-1/2-2-3; Hailey Waystedt, 1-0-0-3; Madi Bergschneider, 1-0-4-2; Grace Schmidt, 1-0-1-2; Rachel Miller, 0-0-2-0; totals, 15-12/1612-47. 3-pt. FG: Schmitt 2, Avery Poppe 2, Waystedt.
St. Croix Falls: Kelsey Cooper, 8-1/10-1-17; Lucy Belisle, 4-4/4-2-13; Ayla Schmidt, 2-0-4-5; Catherine Williams, 3-0-3-7; Selah Greenquist, 1-0-2-2; totals, 18-5/14-12-44. 3-pt. FG: Schmidt, Williams, Belisle.
Hayward 37 28 — 65
Cumberland 12 12 — 24
Hayward: FG/A-FT/A-PF-TP: Avery Poppe, 13/22-0-0-26; Greta Schmitt, 7/13-1/3-2-18; Rachel Miller, 2/6-0/2-0-6; Alivia Poppe, 2/14-1/2-0-5; Hailey Waystedt, 2/4-0-0-5; Avery Chucka, 1/4-0-2-3; Grace Schmidt, 1/2-0-0-2; totals, 28/72-2/7-567. 3-pt. FG/A: Schmitt, 3/5; Miller, 2/5; Chucka, 1/2; Waystedt, 1/2.
Cumberland: Lizzie Mathison, 3/9-0-2-9; Macy Beecroft, 2/6-0/2-2-7; Melody Taylor, 2/7-1/2-1-5; Raegan Beecroft, 1/7-1/2-2-3; Alora Garibaldi, 0/4-0/2-2-0; Kaylee Jackson, 0/1-0-0-0; N. Ruppell, 0/1-0-0-0; totals, 5/24-2/8-9-24. 3-pt. FG: Mathison 3, M. Beecroft.
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