Hurley hangs on to beat Butternut in semifinal

By JASON JUNO

sports@yourdailyglobe.com

BUTTERNUT, Wis. --- None of Hurley’s games with Butternut have been easy this year. The Northstars’ season hasn’t always been a walk in the park. But they found a way to beat Butternut for the third time and they were able to advance to the regional final once again with a 58-55 victory in Friday night’s WIAA Division 5 regional semifinal.

No. 5 seed Hurley beat No. 4 Butternut three times by a combined nine points this season to make the regional final for the third straight year.

It’s been an up-and-down season — they’ve had some tough losses, but they’ve also broken through with some big wins throughout the year, such as their January win over Drummond.

Their biggest came Friday night in Butternut. Butternut came in with 17 wins and had a big and loud home crowd behind them as they sought their first regional title since the 1990s.

Hurley, though, knocked down some 3s early and took an 18-8 lead. Butternut, of course, charged back and made it close. But the Northstars led nearly the entire way, withstanding the great play of Butternut senior Jersey Polencheck, who led all scorers with 28 points.

Hurley’s lead nearly evaporated as they went 1 of 8 at the line down the stretch and turned the ball over as Butternut worked to pull off the comeback, but Hurley held them off for the big win.

“We got a lot of doubters out there, nobody thought we were gonna have a 15-win season, let alone hosting a regional final,” Hurley coach Jay Aijala said. “These girls know how hard they have been working since November 6th, to prove to those people what kind of team we are. And it just showed tonight. The seniors didn’t want them walls to close, that door to shut on their basketball career. (Seniors) Sydney (Saari), Jaana (Aukee), Kamryn (Swartz) hitting crucial shots throughout the game, Kamryn hitting early 3s, Janna hitting them late free throws.”

Butternut coach Troy Scherwinski said he’s proud of the girls for the season they had. He thought they’d advance at least one game farther, but it didn’t work out.

“When you have that culture, you find that way and we’re still developing that culture,” he said. “The senior class, they have us on the right track. Hurley’s had it for awhile and that’s what it comes down to, you just find a way. We got ourselves in these games, we’ve won some close games, just not against Hurley. One game we missed free throws, one game we didn’t play smart at the end, and this one, Hurley just won it. There’s not a whole lot we could do different in this one, we tried everything we do, and Hurley just played well and they won it.”

Hurley celebrated twice Friday night — immediately after completing the victory and then when word spread quickly that top-seed South Shore lost to No. 9 Gilman, giving No. 5 Hurley a home game in the regional final. The second celebration was more enthusiastic.

“That right there shows you what it means to us,” Aijala said. “We weren’t afraid to take a trip to Port Wing (Saturday) let me tell you that. We played two bad games against South Shore, but this team ain’t afraid — it’s very hard to beat a team three times, we know they’re beatable after watching that Drummond game (late in the regular season). But when we heard Gilman won, that was almost as good as winning the regional. Them girls at half court, the crowd was pumped up.”

Aijala said Hurley’s fast start when Swartz and Olivia DiGiorgio hit some 3s was the difference. It gave them an early 10-point lead and they led pretty much the whole way from there.

“I told them girls, we got to jump on it right away, we got to build a lead, we don’t want to be playing in Butternut and a big crowd with two radio stations right by our bench, we don’t want to play from behind all night, we know how that goes,” Aijala said.

Aukee finished with 23 points, a huge night offensively in a huge game. Saari had 14 and DiGiorgio 11.

Polencheck had a big night, like she often does. Hurley was OK with that going into the game.

“Jersey’s gonna score her points, that’s why she is the player she is, but if we stop the other four on the floor, one girl is not going to beat the team and I thought the girls bought into the game plan,” Aijala said.

Polencheck’s work ethic is what has made her so good, Scherwinski said.

“She’s one of the most competitive players I’ve ever coached; her work ethic, she wants to be the best on the floor and I wouldn’t trade her for any player around here,” he said.

Aijala said it’s her motor.

“She don’t stop,” he said. “You would think she’d get tired at some point, that’s not the case with Jersey. She runs that floor 110% and she is always going to get a look down low, she’s got great post moves, she’s very smart with the ball and saavy with it, and if she has to, she’ll dish it off. She’s so dangerous going to the hole, even if we’ve got one or two girls on her, she’s one of those versatile players, one of the best in the conference I believe.”

Some young players stepped up for the Northstars besides just the seniors.

“I thought Lily Youngs and Maddee Youngs stepped up crucial on defense having Andi Krall nursing that ankle injury from the Flambeau game,” Aijala said.

Being in these types of games and these types of late-game situations helped Hurley, Aijala said.

“The girls knew the situations, they knew what to do, I thought that was the biggest thing,” he said. “We know these moments, we’ve been here for three years straight in a game like this. I was hanging my hat on them not being in an atmosphere for a long time and our girls knew what kind of game this was going to be like.”

Hurley --- Andi Krall 2, Jaana Aukee 23, Sydney Saari 14, Kamryn Swartz 8, Olivia DiGiorgio 11. Fouls: 18. Fouled out: DiGiorgio.

Butternut --- Isabelle Przybylski 1, Caitlynn Bebaeu 14, Jersey Polencheck 28, Kendra Pritzl 9, Lauren Sales 3. Fouls: 22. Fouled out: Przybylski.

Hurley 33 58

Butternut 24 55