The Arrowhead Warhawks claim their second state championship in the last three seasons, ending the year with a 28-2 record.
defeated
Wauwatosa East 80-74 in a double overtime thriller in the Division 1 state championship.
The Warhawks went on a 21-11 run after trailing 47-41 with 11:44 to play in the second half to take a 62-58 lead with 28 seconds left.
Ellie Deprey sent the game to overtime with a four-point play with nine seconds remaining.
After each squad scored just three points in the first overtime, Arrowhead opened the second overtime with an 8-2 run, with
Natalie Kussow scoring all eight for the Warhawks and they held on to win their second state title in the last three seasons.
Kussow, who was named Ms. Basketball by the WBCA on Thursday, finished with a game-best 34 points, along with 10 rebounds, six assists and a block. The University of Minnesota signee shot 13-for-25 from the floor, 2-for-8 from three and 6-for-8 on free throws.
Joining Kussow in double figures were junior
Sidney Zehner and senior
Libby Gilmore, who tallied 12 and 11 points, respectively. Zehner dished out six assists and Gilmore pulled down a team-high 13 rebounds and blocked two shots.
Another key contributor for coach Ron Reichle and the Warhawks was senior
Presly Samz, a Lipscomb signee, who totaled nine points, five rebounds, and five assists.
Wauwatosa East was led by
Mikaia Litza, a DePaul signee, who was just short of a triple-double, tallying 26 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.
Three others scored in double digits for coach Mary Merg and the Red Raiders, seniors Audrey Sellinger (14 points), Ellie Deprey (D-II Purdue Northwest signee; 12 points, 7 rebounds) and
Emma Close (Northern Illinois signee; 11 points), and sophomore
Ellie Pudelko (11 points, 6 rebounds).
The Red Raiders, last year's Division 2 state champion, end the year 29-1 overall, with their 41-game winning streak snapped in the D1 state final.
Arrowhead finishes the season with a 28-2 record, capturing their fourth state championship in program history in the team's 13th appearance at state.
