Grafton fades down the stretch

The Grafton High School girls’ basketball team was going to need a few things to fall its way to take down visiting Beaver Dam in Saturday’s Division 2 regional title game.

Not enough tipped in the Black Hawks’ favor in a 67-46 loss.

Grafton came in without starting guard Brynlee Hildebrand due to a foot injury she suffered in the final regular season game. Starter Ava Dotson had an eye infection and reserve guard Emily Sewell had a strained leg, twisted ankle and was poked in the eye in a playoff win over Watertown last Friday.

Despite all that, the No. 2-seeded Hawks were tied with the No. 3 Golden Beavers at 35 with 10 minutes to play.

“It was a good game. We were playing them tight,” coach Matt D’Amato said.

The leading scorer Cali Tagliapietra got called for an offensive foul while cutting to the basket. She picked up her fourth foul on a cut to the hoop on the next possession and had to sit.

The Golden Beavers then hit back-to-back three-pointers. Emma Julka went 4-for-5 on three-pointers in the game and Kennedy Karrel came off the bench and hit three.

“They started to catch fire from the outside,” D’Amato said.

The Hawks were forced to take chances late, making the score look worse than how the game was played, he said.

“We knew this game would be a battle. We had the game tied in the second half at 35 and didn’t answer their run,” Tagliapietra said.

“They are good,” Dotson said. “I think we are all disappointed because we had prepped so much for this game.”

Tagliapietra had 15 points and five rebounds. Liliana Verplancke had 11 points. Melanie Morgan had eight points and 10 rebounds. Dotson had six points and five assists.

“I think if we had other shots on other days with our full team things may have turned out differently,” D’Amato said.

The Hawks didn’t have as big of a home-court advantage as expected. Beaver Dam, D’Amato said, seemingly brought the entire city to cheer for its team while Grafton’s program had a youth tournament in Wisconsin Dells over the weekend, affecting attendance.

The Hawks finished 20-6. They swept Homestead for the first time since 2013 and swept Cedarburg after being swept last year.

“I’m proud of them. There was some adversity right off the bat when we lost Amber (Radtke) with the ACL. What this season could have been if everyone stayed healthy,” D’Amato said.

Grafton’s starters are all tight-knit juniors who enjoyed the season.

“We had so much fun this year as most of us have been playing together since third grade. I couldn’t ask for better teammates and can’t wait for next year,” Tagliapietra said.

“I think we are all so close and clicked. I’m incredibly proud of our team and we aren’t done yet,” Dotson said.

“I’m proud of our team and I feel like we are all best friends and have had a great season,” Verplancke said.

Beaver Dam, 20-6, hosts Port Washington in a sectional semifinal on Thursday, March 5.