Gerrard Diaz, gdiaz@shawanoleader.com
The Bonduel and Wittenberg-Birnamwood high school girls basketball teams will share the Central Wisconsin Conference-8 title. Both teams won their final regular season games Tuesday to close the CWC season with identical 12-2 records.
Marion, meanwhile, won the Central Wisconsin Conference-10 title outright.
Bonduel (18-4, 12-2 CWC-8) beat Iola-Scandinavia (11-11, 6-8 CWC-8) 39-29 Thursday in Iola.
“It was a perfect setup,” Bonduel coach Missy Dowden said. “We told them it would take 12 wins to get a conference championship, and that’s what they set out and did.”
The Bears were led by junior forward Jennifer Dowden, who eclipsed 1,000 career points by scoring 13.
“She didn’t know,” Missy Dowden, Jennifer’s mother, said. “After the game, I had to yell it out to all our fans. She started crying and was pretty happy about it.”
Taylor Weier added nine points, and Alexa Reinke had eight rebounds. Reinke and Danee Collier also had two assists and two steals.
Leighten Fisher led Iola-Scandinavia with nine points.
Wittenberg-Birnamwood (17-4, 12-2 CWC-8) beat Stevens Point Pacelli (1-20, 1-13 CWC-8) 63-22 in Stevens Point.
Mikayla Hartman and Kaitlin Mahan led the Chargers with 11 points each. Taylor Nier added 10.
Sami Kay Shafranski led Pacelli with eight points.
“I thought we played good defense and had a balanced scoring attack,” Witt-Birn coach Mike Balliett said. “We were able to get all 15 girls playing time.”
It is the third straight year the Chargers have finished at the top of the conference, and the fourth time in five years.
The Chargers were on a eight-game winning streak when Bonduel handed them their first conference loss, 31-29, Jan. 21 in Bonduel. Bonduel then beat Wittenberg-Birnamwood 49-47 Feb. 13 in Wittenberg.
Bonduel beat Amherst, which led the conference for several games, 60-44 Saturday to keep pace with the Chargers.
Marion, which lost back-to-back home games to Port Edwards and Shiocton early in the season, bounced back with a 14-game winning streak, including a 38-31 win over Port Edwards Feb. 7, to take control of the CWC-10.
Marion (19-2, 17-1 CWC-10) beat Rosholt (11-11, 9-9 CWC-10) 43-14 Thursday in Rosholt.
In junior varsity action, Bonduel beat Iola-Scandinavia 59-26, completing a perfect 19-0 season.