Heights girls receive No. 9 seed

The road will be tough. But when it comes to the postseason, anything and everything is possible. Wisconsin Heights’ girls basketball team received the No. 9 seed in its WIAA Division 4 sectional. The Vanguards will travel to eighth-seeded Darlington for a regional quarterfinal Feb. 25 at 7 p.m.  If the Vanguards win there, they’d travel to top-seeded La Crosse Aquinas for a regional semifinal on Feb. 28. The regional finals are Feb. 29, and sectionals are March 5 and March 7. Heights continued its up and down season last week by splitting a pair of games. The Vanguards downed visiting Waterloo, 63-44, on Feb. 11. Heights then dropped a 65-62, double overtime thriller at Belleville last Friday. The Vanguards are now 8-12 overall and 4-5 in the Southern Capitol Conference. Heights trailed Waterloo, 26-23, at halftime. But the Vanguards ran away from the Pirates in the second half, outscoring Waterloo, 40-18, after intermission. Ashlee Adler led a balanced scoring attack with 13 points, while Emily Van Riper added 10. Natalie Hering had nine points, while Kelsie Handel, Daryn Schaefer and Kylee Doherty all chipped in with six points. “We came out strong in the second half and pulled away,” Heights coach Bill Sullivan said. “It was nice to get the seniors a win on Senior Night everybody played well.” Heights and Belleville then played a thriller last Friday. Miranda Keith led the Vanguards with 18 points and Handel added 16. Daryn Schaefer, Adler and Hering all added six points, as well. Belleville held a narrow, 27-24, halftime lead. Heights rallied to tie the game at 45 at the end of regulation, and the teams were deadlocked at 54 after the first overtime. But Belleville did just enough in the second overtime and snuck out with a narrow win. “It was a hard-fought, well-played game,” Sullivan said. “We had our opportunities, but the ball did not bounce our way.”   Feb. 11 WISCONSIN HEIGHTS 63, WATERLOO 44 Waterloo ……..….. 26 18 — 44 Heights ….........…. 23 40 — 63 WATERLOO (fg ft-fta pts) — Schneider 4 4-5 15, Powers 1 4-5 6, Jaehnke 0 2-4 2, Asik 3 3-3 11, Mosher 2 4-9 8, Wolff 1 0-0 2. Totals 11 16-25 44. WISCONSIN HEIGHTS — Van Riper 5 0-0 10, Duhr 1 2-2 4, King 0 0-1 0, Doherty 3 0-2 6, Adler 3 7-9 13, Keith 2 3-3 7, Hander 3 0-0 6, Hering 4 0-0 9, Schaefer 1 4-6 6, Mickelson 1 0-0 2. Totals 23 16-23 63. 3-point goals: Wat 6 (Schneider 3, Asik 3); WH 1 (Hering 1). Total fouls: Wat 16; WH 20.   Feb. 14 BELLEVILLE 65, WISCONSIN HEIGHTS 62, 2OT Wis. Heights …. 27 18 9 8 — 62 Belleville …… 24 21 9 11 — 65 BELLEVILLE (fg ft-fta pts) — Shrader 3 6-10 18, Kittleson 3 5-8 14, Grady 0 2-2 2, Smith 2 0-1 4, Foley 8 9-13 25, Stampfl 0 0- 30 Grefsheim 1 0-0 2. Totals 14 12-37 62. WISCONSIN HEIGHTS — Adler 1 4-7 6, Handel 4 8-9 16, Haring 3 0-4 6, Wood 1 0-0 3, Keith 7 4-9 18, Schaefer 2 2-2 6, Mickelson 1 2-3 4. Totals 18 20-34 65. 3-point goals: WH 5 (Kittleson 3, Shrader 2); B 2 (Wood 1, Teela 1). Total fouls: WH 24; B 30. Fouled out: B 30.