Prep Chatter: St. Mary Catholic girls basketball team rides into playoffs with big victory over Oostburg

FOX CROSSING − The St. Mary Catholic girls basketball team is a perfect example of a team that's ascending as it enters the playoffs.

The Zephyrs (23-1) got a big − make that huge − victory over visiting Oostburg, 72-69, in a battle of Big East Conference division champs Thursday.

SMC, the North champs and ranked No. 2 in the latest Associated Press Division 4 rankings, played without a starter and a top reserve due to illness. It didn't matter against Oostburg, the top-ranked team in Division 3. The Big East South champs feature a pair of the state's top sophomores in twin sisters Riley and Ady Ketterhagen.

Three things stood out for the Zephyrs in this game: the hot first half of Emily Vogel, the team's ability to convert just enough free throws in the closing seconds and head coach Jeff Chew's ability to navigate a short-handed team late in the game when the Zephyrs had four players with four fouls.

“It was a huge win for us,” Chew said. “It was just a nice win for the team and we actually pulled up a couple of kids from JV who filled in a few minutes here and there during the game. That was a positive.

“Plus, Emily shot fantastic in the first half. She was lights out.”

Vogel, a 5-foot-10 junior guard, scored 29 of her career-high 38 points in the first half, including five 3-pointers. She shot 13-of-20 from the floor, including 5-of-9 from beyond the arc. She also had seven rebounds.

Her previous high was 29 points against Cedarburg this season on Dec. 16.

"The mentality that we talked about before the game, we said that whoever wants it more is going to win," Vogel said. "We tried to go for every rebound, every steal and playing as fast as we could and as intense as we could while keeping the ball steady."

SMC finished 16-of-22 from the free throw line. Zephyrs senior Audrey Norville connected on 7-of-8 free throws late to hold off Oostburg. She finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.

"I always come up to the line, take a deep breath and hope that it's going in," Norville said of the free throws. "I think it's going in every time and if it doesn't, that's unfortunate. But I'm always going up there thinking that it's going in."

SMC is the top seed in its portion of the Division 4 bracket with defending D4 state champ Laconia the No. 2 seed. Oostburg (22-2) lost at Laconia in the season opener in overtime, 82-78, and then proceeded to win its next 22 games before the loss to SMC.

SMC and Laconia could meet in a sectional semifinal and there's no doubt the Zephyrs' win over Oostburg gives the team confidence.

"We needed one of these games before the playoffs and it worked out that we're both state-ranked and both 22-1 going into this game," Chew said of the win over Oostburg. "And it turned out to be a great game, too. You need games like this going into the playoffs.

"(Oostburg) played Laconia earlier in the year and lost in overtime. It's on the girls' minds. This is a little like, 'Oh, OK. We just beat that team. And they should have beat Laconia or whatever.' It was the first game of the year, so who knows? But a good team that you beat and a No. 1 seed, it's a real competitive team to play and a nice win for us."

SMC, Xavier and Hortonville lead conference champs

The Zephyrs captured the Big East North title outright with a 12-0 record. Here is a recap of the other girls basketball conference winners and top area finishers.

Bay: Xavier (17-7, 11-1) held off West De Pere (18-6, 10-2) for the conference title. Menasha (14-10, 7-5) and New London (18-6, 7-5) finished in a tie for third.

Central Wisconsin East: Bonduel (22-2, 14-0) won the title with Weyauwega-Fremont (10-11, 6-7) finishing fourth and Manawa (12-12, 5-9) and Shiocton (7-17, 5-9) tied for sixth.

Eastern Wisconsin: Sheboygan Falls (22-2, 14-0) finished as champs with Chilton (16-8, 9-5) placing third and Brillion (9-15, 5-9) tied for fifth.

Fox Valley Association: Hortonville (19-5, 17-1) won the title at least a game ahead of Kimberly (20-3, 15-2), which has its final FVA game against Appleton East on Tuesday. Neenah was third (19-5, 14-4) with Appleton North (12-12, 10-8) tied for fourth. Appleton East (14-9, 9-8) is currently sixth with Kaukauna (8-16, 6-12) finishing in seventh.

North Eastern: Marinette (20-4, 16-2) finished a game ahead of Freedom (17-7, 15-3) for the league crown with Wrightstown (14-9, 13-5) taking third. Fox Valley Lutheran (9-14, 9-9) finished in a three-way tie for fifth.

Basketball livestream of the week: Neenah at Appleton North

USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin will livestream a Fox Valley Association boys basketball regular-season finale with Neenah traveling to Appleton North on Thursday.

The livestream begins at 7:15 p.m. and can be seen on postcrescent.com, on the Post-Crescent's Facebook page and on YouTube on the USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin channel.

Fox Valley Lutheran boys basketball on Roundtable

The Fox Valley Lutheran boys basketball team will be guests on Varsity Roundtable this week. The Foxes are ranked fourth in the latest Associated Press state basketball poll in Division 2 and have won the North Eastern Conference title for the third consecutive season.

The show can be seen Wednesday on postcrescent.com, on the Post-Crescent's Facebook page or on the USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin YouTube channel. Showtime is 7 p.m.

Area basketball rankings

*Teams are ranked "pound-for-pound" based on success against similar enrollments. Monday's results not included.

GIRLS

1, St. Mary Catholic (23-1): Emily Vogel's career night (38 points) helps the Zephyrs get a huge 72-69 victory over D3 top-ranked Oostburg in their regular-season finale. Next: WIAA playoffs, D4 regional semifinal, Friday vs. Weyauwega-Fremont or Manawa.

2, Hortonville (19-5): Polar Bears drop close game to D2 state power Notre Dame on Tuesday but rebound with 76-32 victory over Appleton West to end regular season. Next: WIAA playoffs, D1 regional semifinal, Friday vs. Appleton West or Chippewa Falls.

3, Kimberly (20-3): Papermakers beat Kaukauna 78-48 and still have one regular-season game remaining. Next: Tuesday vs. Appleton East.

4, Neenah (19-5): Rockets end regular season with back-to-back FVA losses to Hortonville and Oshkosh West. Can the Rockets find their mojo with the playoffs starting? Next: WIAA playoffs, D1 regional semifinal, Friday vs. Wisconsin Rapids.

5, Xavier (17-7): Hawks finish regular season winning six of their final seven games. Tough schedule earns the Hawks a top seed in the D3 playoffs. Next: WIAA playoffs, D3 regional semifinal, Friday vs. Kiel or Denmark.

Also: New London (18-6), Freedom (17-7), Chilton (16-8), Appleton East (14-9), Menasha (14-10), Wrightstown (14-9), Appleton North (12-12).

BOYS

1, Xavier (20-2): Hawks handed 72-65 loss to Mosinee, snapping team's 10-game win streak. Xavier rebounds with 89-53 victory over Green Bay East and finishes regular season with nonconference game at West Bend West and final Bay Conference game at home against Shawano. Next: Tuesday at West Bend West.

2, Fox Valley Lutheran (20-2): Foxes were 2-0 last week and move up spot in rankings with Brillion's loss. Team has captured North Eastern Conference title and finishes regular-season slate with road games at Notre Dame and at Luxemburg-Casco. Next: Tuesday at Notre Dame.

3, Brillion (19-3): Lions lose Eastern Wisconsin Conference title to Kiel following 64-46 loss on Friday. Team finishes regular-season play this week at Mosinee and at home against Sheboygan Falls. Next: Monday at Mosinee.

Boys playoff brackets set: Freedom earns No. 1 seed in upcoming WIAA high school boys basketball playoffs

4, Freedom (18-4): Irish hold steady at fourth spot in rankings after finishing 1-1 this past week, losing to NEC champ Fox Valley Lutheran on Tuesday but rebounding to beat Marinette 92-56 on Friday. Next: Monday vs. New London.

5, Kaukauna (17-6): Ghosts back in top 5 with eight-game win streak after 1-4 stretch in mid-January. Keegan Van Kauwenberg leads the team in scoring (18.4) with Jon O'Neill also having a strong season (14.4 ppg, 11.2 rebounds). Next: Thursday at Fond du Lac.

Others: Neenah (16-7), Appleton North (16-6), Kimberly (14-8), St. Mary Catholic (16-7), Clintonville (15-7), New London (14-7), Waupaca (14-8), Hortonville (13-10), Seymour (13-9), Little Chute (12-11).

This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Prep Chatter: High school basketball rankings, conference champions