Aquinas loses state title in final seconds

Howards Grove ends Blugolds season at state … again.

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Down three, with the state championship on the line in the final seconds, Kyah Steiner’s jump shot was good. 

Unfortunately for the Aquinas High School girls basketball team, her foot was on the 3-point line.

The top-ranked Blugolds lost the Division 4 state title 44-43 Saturday at the Resch Center to No. 4 Howards Grove – the same team that ended the Aquinas volleyball team’s season in the state semifinals, before also winning that state title.

Aquinas led for all but 40 seconds of the game. Unfortunately, those were the last 40 seconds. The Blugolds (26-1) were up 22-17 at halftime and had a 40-32 lead after a Lexi Donarski bucket with 5:06 remaining.

After that, Howards Grove (26-1) went on a 10-0 run, taking the lead on an Oliva Stauss bucket and the foul with 49 seconds remainging. Aquinas never got it back.

Down 42-40, Kayla Bahr pulled Aquinas within a point, going 1-for-2 from the line with 15 seconds remaining.

The Blugolds had to foul after that and Stauss hit both free throws to go up 3 with 10 seconds to go, before Aquinas’ final possession and Steiner’s foot-on-the-line jumper.

Donarski had 23 points, going 8 of 14 from the field to lead Aquinas, which held Howards Grove to 31-percent shooting.