As we flip the calendar from to April, it’s worth taking the time to look back on some of the magical moments of March, 2012…moments you were able to watch on the WIAA state network.

KNETTER FINDS THE NET
After Onalaska opened the scoring in the first period of the girls hockey state championship game, Central Wisconsin Storm defenseman Kylie Knetter answered with a wrist shot from the point, and celebrated by doing Aaron Rodgers’ “belt” move.   Knetter scored on an almost identical shot in the 3rd period, after the Hilltoppers had closed to within 4-2.  Give her the belt, and give the Storm the state title.

SKATE, SHOOT, SCORE…CHAMPIONSHIP
Brett Gruber’s goal at 3:49 of the 2nd overtime gave Notre Dame Academy its first-ever WIAA state boys hockey championship, as the Tritons edged defending state champ Wausau West, 3-2, in an extremely well-played game by both sides.

DIAMOND’S BLOCK PARTY
Dominican’s 6-9 freshman Diamond Stone made his WIAA state tournament debut a memorable one, as he sutffed the stat sheet to the tune of 15 points, 15 rebounds, and  14 blocks in the Knight’s Division 3 semifinal win over Colfax.

SHOW TIME
Germantown sent a message to defending Division 1 champ Madison Memorial on the opening tip, when Zak Showalter, generously listed as 6-3 in the program, threw down an emphatic dunk in the face of the Spartans’ Jamar Morris.  It was the first of five dunks for Showalter in that game, showing the Kohl Center crowd that the future Wisconsin walk-on probably won’t be without a scholarship for very long.

NO DENYING DEKKER
Sam Dekker’s last second, game-winning 3 pointer to defeat Racine Lutheran is this generation’s Lamont Weaver moment.  It was the capper to a remarkable high school career, which ended with Dekker scoring 12 points in just over 45 seconds to lift his Sheboygan Lutheran team to its first-ever WIAA state title.

BATTLE OF THE UNBEATENS
Miss Basketball award winner Nicole Bauman outscored Tara Knapstein 14-12, but Knapstein’s New London team defeated Bauman’s club from New Berlin Eisenhower, in a very-well played and entertaining Division 2 state championship.

DE PERE DEFEATS KING
In another well-played and entertaining matchup for the Division 1 title, De Pere captured its 2nd-ever state championship when a potential game-tying 3 by Milwaukee King’s Shakeela Fowler rimmed out.

BOWE’S BANK SHOT
Heather Bowe of Regis wasn’t all that far from the spot on the court where Sam Dekker drained his championship-winning 3, when she launched a last-second 3 that banked in, sending her Ramblers to overtime against Oshkosh Lourdes.

What were your favorite moments from the state high school tournaments?  Feel free to add your comments below.  For all of us who worked to bring you all the action from the championships, thanks very much for watching.

-BOB BRADOVICH

Posted under Hometown Sports