The Beaver Dam High School girls basketball team will face Rice Lake this afternoon in the WIAA Division 2 State Championship Game at the Resch Center in Green Bay. You can hear the game on 1430 ESPN Beaver Dam.
The Golden Beavers (18-6) have earned a trip to the WIAA State Tournament for the seventh time in program history. Their most recent appearance came in 2020, when they qualified for the State Tournament before it was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Beaver Dam was attempting to become the first girls basketball program in WIAA history to win four consecutive state titles, having already captured three straight championships. This season, the Golden Beavers finished as runner-up in the Badger Large Conference behind Waunakee.
Beaver Dam is led by senior Nataya Donaldson, a UW-Milwaukee recruit, who averages 17.3 points and 9.6 rebounds per game. Senior Emma Julka adds 11 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per contest. Fellow senior Sheamarie Ashley contributes 9.8 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. Junior Kennedy Karel has connected on 40 percent of her three-point attempts this season, hitting 36 of 90 from beyond the arc.
Rice Lake (21-3) enters the championship as co-champions of the Big Rivers Conference alongside Hudson. The Warriors are the top seed in the bracket after qualifying for state for the first time in program history last season, when they fell in the semifinals. Rice Lake advanced to this year’s title game by winning the Stevens Point Sectional, defeating Shawano 59-45 in the final.
The Warriors are led by University of Wisconsin recruit Adaline Sheplee. The 6-foot-3 senior averages 28.3 points and 9 rebounds per game. Junior Addison Schmidt, 6-foot-2, is also a dominant presence in the paint, averaging 18.3 points and 14.3 rebounds per contest. Junior Abigail Doebereiner provides a strong outside threat, knocking down 41 of 107 three-point attempts this season.
You can hear the game as a radio-only broadcast on 1430 ESPN Beaver Dam with Mike Throndsen and Wally Lukachinsky on the call. Coverage begins at 1:15 p.m., with tipoff set for 1:35 p.m.
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE AUDIO STREAM
Friday, March 13, 2026
Division 2
#1 Rice Lake (25-3) vs. #4 Beaver Dam (22-6) – 1:35 p.m.
#2 Whitefish Bay (24-4) vs. #3 Elkhorn (24-4)*
Saturday, March 14th, 2026
Division 2 Championship Game – 6:35 p.m.
The rest of the bracket , Whitefish Bay, has eight previous appearances in the State Tournament with the last coming in 2019. The Blue Dukes’ best outcome in any of the previous tournament experiences was a runner-up finish in Class A in 1986. They defeated Whitnall 78-51 in the final of the Waukesha North Sectional. The Blue Dukes finished the regular season as champions of the North Shore Conference. Elkhorn, the #3 seed, makes the program’s second appearance at State after its first experience resulted in a Division 2 championship in 1997. The Elks are the champions of the Southern Lakes Conference this season. They advance to the State semifinals after defeating Milton 66-47 in the final of the Janesville Craig Sectional final.
Click the link to preview the game with Head Coach TJ Julka
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