The Beaver Dam High School girls basketball team will face Whitefish Bay (25-4) tonight in the WIAA Division 2 State Championship Game at the Resch Center in Green Bay.
The fourth-seeded Golden Beavers (23-6) advanced to the title game by knocking off top-seeded Rice Lake 70-58 in the semifinals behind 25 points from senior Nataya Donaldson. Second-seeded Whitefish Bay earned its spot in the championship game with a 78-42 victory over third-seeded Elkhorn.
Beaver Dam will be playing for its fourth state championship after winning three straight titles from 2017 to 2019. The Golden Beavers also qualified for the state tournament in 2020 but never got the chance to compete when the tournament was canceled due to COVID-19. Beaver Dam was also the state runner-up in 1991.
This marks Whitefish Bay’s ninth appearance in the WIAA State Girls Basketball Tournament and its first since 2019. The Blue Dukes were Class A state runner-up in 1986 and have also made state appearances in 1976, 1981, 1982, 1997, 2006 and 2011.
Junior Rowan Counsell, the daughter of Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell, leads Whitefish Bay in scoring at 21.4 points per game. Senior Sage Miskel averages 17.7 points per contest, while junior Madeline Volpe adds 11.8 points per game.
Coverage begins tonight at 6:15 p.m., with tipoff set for 6:35 p.m. on 1430 ESPN Beaver Dam.
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