Kewaunee buzzer-beater completes repeat

ASHWAUBENON - With a repeat on the line and time running down Jill Kleiman knew she had to make a move.

She started dribbling down the right side of the lane and the defense came rushing to her. In a split second the senior point guard zipped a pass to Alex Richard who was camped out underneath the basket on the left side.

Richard caught the pass and went up with the shot. The ball circled around the rim and then fell just before the buzzer sounded.

The repeat was complete as Kewaunee rallied to defeat East Troy, 60-58, in thrilling fashion in the Division 3 girls basketball state title game at the Resch Center.

“Time was running out so I knew I had to make a move,” said Kleiman, a senior. “Once I saw ‘Rich,’ I fired that ball and she made it.”

“It’s just so unreal,” senior Kelsey Stangel said. “Before the buzzer (sounded) I was like in shock. Oh, ‘Rich,’ this is your shot.’ She finishes strong and she did it when we needed it.”

The winning play wasn’t the play coach Lynn Geier drew up during a timeout with 16 seconds to play. She wanted to get the ball inside to Richard in a different way, but East Troy’s defense wouldn’t allow it.

“We were trying to look for an isolation with ‘Rich,’” Geier said. “Hopefully we’d get a mismatch or an isolation and it broke up. We told the team if it breaks up stay composed. Jill took charge and it worked out.”

The state title for Kewaunee seemed unlikely in the first quarter when the Trojans’ speed clearly overwhelmed Kewaunee as they jumped to a 17-4 lead. Whether it was on offense or defense, the Storm looked overmatched.

“We knew we were in for one of our biggest challenges with East Troy,” Geier said.

Nonetheless, Kewaunee didn’t wilt. Being one win short of a repeat wouldn’t sit well with this group, so the Storm started pecking away at the lead and trailed, 32-23, at halftime.

“When you’re in that situation the worst thing you can do is get angry,” said Stangel, who also had a game-high 10 rebounds. “We settled down. That’s when we came together. Everybody makes mistakes and you have to overcome them.”

Kewaunee eventually trimmed the lead to 44-40 at the end of three quarters and then it was a matter of completing the comeback, but it wasn’t easy.

The Storm led 54-50 with 2:21 to play, but East Troy buried a three-pointer. Later, the Storm led 58-55, but East Troy drilled another 3-pointer to set up the final moments.

Kewaunee ran down the clock to 16 seconds before calling a timeout and then the drama played out.

“I can’t even explain how I felt,” Kleiman said. “We were waiting for it to go in and once it went in, I jumped so high.”

The last play defined what Kleiman has meant to the Storm over the last three years, which have ended in the state championship game. Kleiman usually has been “Big Shot Jill” in the state tournament, but Saturday the last pass of her career was a dandy.

Kleiman was saddled with foul trouble in the first half and when she was on the bench Kewaunee’s offense struggled. When she was on the court, the Storm was a different team as her ball handling and decision making was crucial.

Geier knew the offense had to get going because early on it was cold.

“We knew we had to execute better on offense,” Geier said. “We were standing around. We wanted to open it up more. It was a matter of moving and executing more.”

Meanwhile, Stangel was huge again for Kewaunee. After scoring 17 in a semifinal win, she came back with 27 points.

Kewaunee’s “Big Three” was huge in the team’s last two games. Kleiman, Stangel and Richard scored all but seven of the team’s points in the two state tournament games.

Stangel said a driving force was finishing her career like the seniors did last year – with a  state title.

“Last year, being with such a great group of seniors, being underclassmen, we knew we wanted to go out the same way they did last year,” Stangel said. “That’s exactly what we pushed for all season. This was our dream our whole life and we accomplished it.”

• 3-pointers: Richard scored 16 points, while Kleiman added 11 points. … East Troy shot 56.4 percent (22 for 39). … Kewaunee outrebounded East Troy, 28-18.
• Game ball: Stangel, whose offense rallied Kewaunee back into the game.
• Numbers game: 2 Straight state titles for Kewaunee.

Click on link for a complete boxscore: http://www.wiaawi.org/Portals/0/PDF/Results/Basketball_Girls/2013/d3game3.htm

Follow Doug Ritchay on Twitter @dougritchay

doug.ritchay@wluk.com