On Sunday, Feb. 11, the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) revealed the brackets for the upcoming 2024 girls basketball state tournament. The Pirates of Waterloo and Cardinals of Marshall both found themselves playing on the opening day of the state tournament, Tuesday, Feb. 20. They both belong to Sectional 4 in Division 4, Waterloo as a No. 7 seed and Marshall as a No. 8.
Heading into the final week of the regular season, Waterloo boasts an overall record of 12-10, including a 4-5 mark in Capitol — South conference play. The Pirates still have two more games on their schedule, a trip to Deerfield on Tuesday, Feb. 13 and another voyage to league-leading New Glarus on Thursday, Feb. 15.
Regardless of how those games turn out, Waterloo is locked into a date with No. 10 seed Racine Lutheran in the opening round of the state tournament. It’s been a tough season for the Crusaders, who will pay a visit to Waterloo to kick the tournament off on Friday, Feb. 20. They’ve lost all 12 of their games in the Metro Classic conference and currently have a 1-19 overall record with two games remaining on the schedule.
Racine Lutheran has had 10 games this season where it has been held to 21 points or less, including a low of 11. The Crusaders’ sole victory came recently, a 58-16 win at Saint Anthony on Monday, Feb. 5. Racine Lutheran and Waterloo have no shared opponents from the regular season. The winner of that regional opener will advance to face No. 2 seed Milwaukee Juneau, which received a first round bye, in the next round.
No. 8 seed Marshall will also have the benefit of a home game to open up the state tournament as it will welcome in No. 9 seed Williams Bay on Tuesday, Feb. 20. The Cardinals earned this seeding with an 8-15 record, including a 0-9 mark in conference play. They’ve lost nine straight games heading into the final week of the regular season. They’ll hope to end that streak and get their first win in conference play on Thursday, Feb. 15 with a trip to Wisconsin Heights.
Williams Bay picked up the ninth seed in Sectional 4 of Division 4 with a 3-16 overall record, including a 2-8 effort in the Trailways — South conference. The Bulldogs’ wins this season include Johnson Creek, Madison Country Day, and Faith Christian. That Faith Christian win came on Saturday, Feb. 10 to end a six-game losing streak. The Bulldogs have another game with Madison Country Day as well as home games with Juda and Deerfield left on the regular season schedule.
Marshall and Williams Bay share an opponent from the regular season in Dodgeland. The Trojans beat the Bulldogs 48-36 Bulldogs in mid December, but the Cardinals beat Dodgeland in convincing fashion near the end of December, 62-22. The two will have another shared opponent in Deerfield once Williams Bay finishes its season. The Demons barely escaped the Cardinals in their matchup on Saturday, Dec. 16, 53-52.
The winner of Marshall and Williams Bay will have a tall task on their plate in the following round. They’ll have to travel to face No. 1 seed The Prairie School, which is ranked No. 3 in Division 4 of the wissports.net girls basketball coaches poll.
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