The opening round of the Section 5AA playoffs began Thursday, March 3, at Kimball where the third-seeded Cubs hosted a matchup against the sixth-seeded PACT Spectrum Panthers. Kimball led from the start, as they jumped on top of the Panthers leading 29-20 at the half. Kimball pushed its lead to 47-33, with six minutes to play and held on as the Panthers tried to make a late push, with Kimball holding on for the 55-48 victory. Rachel Arnold led the Cubs with 18 points and five assists, while Mandy Wittenberg totaled 13 points and 11 rebounds. Brooke Merten handled the point well, adding 12 points of her own, while guard Natalie Stein chipped in five points, Shannon Donnay had four points, Megan Garding two points and Erin Dingmann one point. The win advanced the Cubs into the semifinal matchup to face the number two-seeded EV-W Eagles March 5. This game would rank very high in entertainment value, as the local rivalry would live up to high playoff expectations. The Cubs were fired up to play as they rallied from an early 3-0 deficit to take the lead right back and led for almost the entire first half. Entering the second half with a 24-18 lead, the Cubs were blitzed by the physical intensity from EV-W which resulted in a 10-0 Eagle scoring run to start the second half. However, Kimball would respond by taking the lead back at 29-28 with 12 minutes remaining. From this point the fouls would mount and many free throws would be shot while the lead would change hands 11 times in the second half. With one minute and 30 seconds remaining, Kimball’s 44-43 lead would be erased as EV-W took the lead on a field goal giving the Eagles a 45-44 lead. This would be the final lead change as EV-W held on to win by a final score of 49-47. The scoring line for Kimball was as follows: Arnold 15, Garding 11, Wittenberg eight, Merten five, Donnay three, Liz Kastanek two, Stein two, Dingmann one. Wittenberg led in rebounding with eight boards, Arnold in assists with four and steals with three. With the loss, Kimball finishes the season with a 14-12 season record, while EV-W defeated Maple Lake in the Sub Section Championship Tuesday, March 8 by a score of 41-30. In the Section Championship Friday, March 11, EV-W lost 35-19 to Providance Academy who will represent Section 5AA in the State Tournament this week.
