Slinger and Whitefish Bay set up North Shore Conference rematch in Division 2 State Championship

MADISON, Wis. — The Kohl Center is the place to be this weekend if you want a little taste of March Madness. Slinger and Whitefish Bay will meet once again for a third time this season for the Division 2 state championship, setting up an all-North Shore Conference title game.

Slinger beat Whitefish Bay twice in the regular season by a combined three points.

#1 Slinger rolls past #4 McFarland, 83-56

Top-seeded Slinger defeated fourth-seeded McFarland 83-56 in the first semifinal game, advancing to the title game for the first time in program history.

"It's history in the making, so I haven’t taken it in full yet," Owls junior Jack Kohnen said. "Obviously trying to just stay - we’ve got another game to win tomorrow, and if we win that one, it will be even cooler."

Both teams were chasing history, each back at state for the first time since the 1970s. Slinger, the North Shore Champions led by eighth-year head coach Alex Lavine, made its second trip after appearing in 1977. McFarland, led by 20th-year head coach Jeff Meinholdt, made its third trip, having won state championships in 1973 and 1974.

McFarland closed out the first half strong behind Eli Krueger, who scored 17 points in the half. Krueger hit a 3-pointer in the final seconds to give McFarland its first lead in nearly 15 minutes, putting them up by two at the break, 30-28. Krueger finished with 26 points, six rebounds, and three assists. Garrett Crull added 15 points, four rebounds, and three blocks for McFarland.

Slinger took over in the second half, outscoring McFarland 55-26. A 23-3 run midway through the half blew the game open. Slinger outscored McFarland 24-6 on fast breaks and led for 31 minutes and 27 seconds of the game, building a lead as large as 30 points.

"We talk about wearing them down and making them play 94 feet for 36 minutes," Lavine said. "We felt that we could do that. It's something that we preach all the time. I feel like the way that we work on a daily basis, it's just a part of our identity. But you know, sometimes you play a half, and you don't have it, and you either find it or you don't. You don’t get do-overs, so really proud of the guys for just figuring that part of it out."

Owls junior Jack Kohnen scored 25 of his 35 points after the break. He finished with a double-double, recording 35 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, and five steals. Bryson Fogle added 20 points, six rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Joey Kohnen contributed 11 points and five rebounds.

"It's going to be another battle tomorrow," Jack Kohnen said. "I mean, obviously, the state championship - every team is going to be pretty good. I mean, playing (Slinger), we know a little bit about them, and if we play them again, I think we'll be ready because we know a little bit more about them."

#3 Whitefish Bay closes the door on #2 West Salem, 64-58

Third-seeded Whitefish Bay secured a 64-58 victory over second-seeded West Salem in a much closer semifinal game.

Whitefish Bay struggled early, shooting 32.1% from the floor and 11% from 3-point range in the first half. West Salem, the Coulee Conference Champions led by first-year head coach Shane Schmelling, controlled the majority of the first half, taking a six-point lead into the break. West Salem was making its fourth trip to state after appearances in 2022, 2023, and 2024.

In the second half, Whitefish Bay improved to 52.2% from the floor and 60% from 3-point range. The Blue Dukes scored 23 points off turnovers, while West Salem committed 21 turnovers in the game.

Jeremy Dunk, TMJ4 Sports

"We talk about 36-minute games all the time, and we pressure relentlessly," Whitefish Bay head coach Ryan Fiet said. "We got Reid Muderlak back in the game, which allowed us to switch one through five, and we just kept the pressure on. We got some big turnovers, some layups, got Colin Julien some threes in the corner against their 1-3-1, and once we took the lead, the pressure was back on them, and we got enough stops – even though we gave it away a couple times – we got enough stops to get it done."

Colin Julien hit a 3-pointer midway through the second half to retake the lead for Whitefish Bay after trailing for 12 minutes of action. The team then went on a 7-0 run to stay in front for good.

"I think for us personally, we've been playing since like fourth grade together," Julien said. "So we know how to play basketball as a group, and for these tough games like these, where it comes down to the wire, we all know what we're good at. And I think that's what makes us like such a good team that can win these close ones and get us to this spot that we are now."

Julien finished with 21 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and four steals. Mace Miskel recorded 17 points and four steals, while Marcus Webb added 13 points.

For West Salem, Tyson Labus scored 23 points and grabbed five rebounds. Elliot Corcoran had 17 points and five rebounds, and Drew McConkey added six points and 10 rebounds.

It has been 15 years since Whitefish Bay last won a state championship. The program, making its seventh trip to state, previously won titles in 1996, 1998 and 2011. This is the first time in Blue Dukes history that both the girls and boys basketball teams have played in a championship game in the same year. The girls team won its first gold ball last week in Green Bay.

"It's been pretty crazy to be honest," Miskel said. "Obviously, it's really cool to see the girls do so great and accomplish that. As far as the next game, we've just had a one-game-at-a-time mentality, and that's helped us a lot. We're not looking into the future. Now it's down to one game, and obviously it's a big one, but we're going to play the same way we've been playing all throughout the postseason. We're going to stay within ourselves. We're not going to force anything. We're going to let the game come to us like we have been doing it. I think if we do that, then we'll be really successful in the future."

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

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