Dubuque Wahlert Catholic is going to a state championship game for the first time and the Golden Eagles cleared their path with an impressive victory.
Wahlert frustrated Williamsburg at every turn in their Class 3A semifinal and won 52-34 to move into the title game against Mount Vernon at 8 p.m. Friday. It’s a major achievement for the Wahlert program, which before this year had won just once in state tournament play.
Claire Lueken, a smooth-shooting 5-foot-11 senior, led the Golden Eagles (21-4) with 27 points. Lueken made 10 of her 18 shots with three 3-pointers, collected eight rebounds and handed out two assists.
Claire King and Caroline Freed each scored seven points for Wahlert and Freed grabbed nine rebounds. Ruth Tauber contributed to the victory with seven rebounds, six assists and four points. Wahlert outrebounded Williamsburg 38-25 and prevented the Raiders from getting into any kind of offensive rhythm, holding them to 30 percent shooting.
Carly Rich led Williamsburg (24-3) with nine points, Ava Hocker scored six to go with five rebounds and Kennedy Skaggs added five points.
Williamsburg was 0-3 in state tournament play before this year and has made great strides under third-year coach Stephanie Dacey. The Raiders went 5-17 her first year, improved to 14-9 last season and finish this season with a school record for victories.
Dacey came in with plenty of state tournament experience as a player. As Stephanie Rich, she led Washington to three state championships and was inducted into the IGHSAU Hall of Fame.
Wahlert set the tone against the Raiders early, holding them to 1-for-13 shooting in taking a 14-3 lead after one quarter. The Golden Eagles kept adding to their margin from there as Lueken continued to knock down shots and her teammates took advantage of their opportunities.
Leading 29-14 at halftime, Wahlert ran off 12 straight points during a 6 ½-minute stretch in the third quarter to build its lead to 41-16, which would be its largest of the game.
Williamsburg cut the lead to 46-30 with an 8-0 run, but Wahlert came back with layups from Lueken and Freed and two free throws by Myla Breithaupt to finish it off.
