The Hartford Orioles girls’ basketball team is scheduled to face off against the Kimberly Papermakers in the Division I WIAA Semifinal Thursday.
Hartford finished their regular season at 22-2 and took a share of the North Shore title with a 15-1 record in conference play. They’re also working on a season-high 14 game win streak.
The Orioles have followed the lead of University of Minnesota commit Makena Christian. She leads the team in points per game (25.5), rebounds per game (9.4), steals per game (2.4) and three pointers made (67) for the season. Christian, a junior guard, sits at 1,825 career points.
Fourth year head coach Vinny Daniels said Christian is a true all-around threat. “She hits threes, she can post up, she can attack the basket,” he said.
Kimberly steps into this matchup with quite the resume as well; they wrapped up the regular season with a 21-3 record. The Papermakers took the second spot in the Fox Valley Association at 16-2 against conference opponents, and they are working on 10 straight wins.
Kimberly is led by Belmont commit Katelyn McGinnis. McGinnis is averaging a team-best 18.2 points per game, and she paces the Papermakers in three pointers made (70) as well. The junior guard is just 35 points shy of the sought-after 1,000 career point mark.
The two dominant programs will cross paths on Thursday with a tip-off time of 7 p.m. at Oshkosh North High School. The winner will advance to the sectional final and will be just one victory away from a state semifinal appearance in Green Bay.
Hear the full interview with Hartford Orioles head coach Vinny Daniels by clicking below.
