Howards Grove rallies down stretch to top Aquinas for title, 44-43

ASHWAUBENON — Olivia Strauss scored a team-high 16 points as Howards Grove beat Aquinas 44-43 in the WIAA Division 4 girls basketball state championship game on Saturday at the Resch Center.

It was Howards Grove's first state title in its second tournament appearance. The Tigers won their final 26 games of the season.



Aquinas led for the entire game except for the final 49.4 seconds. Both team finished with 27-1 records..

Howards Grove trailed 40-32 with 5:06 remaining before making its move. The Tigers used a 12-3 run the rest of the way to steal the victory, including hitting 5 of 7 free throws in the final minute.

Lexi Donarski, a freshman, scored a game-high 23 points for Aquinas.

Brittany Schaller and Samantha Yancy each added eight points for Howards Grove.