MCDONALD'S SWNEWS4U.COM GAME OF THE WEEK (March 11–18)
WIAA D4 GIRLS BASKETBALL: #4 Cuba City 53, #2 St. Mary Catholic 50

By Casey Lindecrantz, Tri-County Press / Republican Journal

Cubans sit alone atop Division 4 following WIAA state title #12

GREEN BAY — The Cuba City Cubans can officially make a watch with gold balls as the hour markers. A 53–50 win over Saint Mary Catholic in the Division 4 State Championships at the Resch Center further cemented Cuba City’s status as the most successful girls’ basketball program in the state.

The championship matchup lived up to its name, with both teams struggling to find separation over the full 36 minutes. Cuban (25–5) head coach Jason Derby was quick to praise the second-seeded Zephyrs (26–4) following his team’s win.

“Saint Mary Catholic is such a quality team, and they showed it,” he said. “They played a really good game, and we’ve got tons of respect for them and their coaches. They did a nice job of causing us issues in a lot of places, especially rebounding and we were able to do just enough to win.”

4-seed Cuba City shot out to the early lead — Ella Vosberg won the tip, then hit a layup in the paint seven seconds in with Ashley Rowe on the assist. Olivia Olson and Rowe each hit a three, with a 2-point second-chance shot from the former, to help keep the Cubans just ahead of the Zephyrs to the 14:02-mark, 10–8. 

SMC went on the offensive, holding Cuba City scoreless as it added 10 points to its name over the next three minutes, prompting a Cuban timeout.

Vosberg got her team back on the board making the second of two free throw attempts after taking a shooting foul. Rogers followed, scooping up her own miss for a shot in the paint to trim the deficit to five. Vosberg and Olson made the gap four points by 9:42, as the pair answered a Zephyrs three with a layup, apiece.

Dea Crist hit her first shot of the game in the paint 30 seconds later, putting the split at two points as SMC struggled to make a basket during Cuba City’s surge. The Zephyrs drained a pair of free throws in response a minute later, but a Crist layup at the 8-minute mark negated the damage. SMC earned its biggest lead in eight minutes off a layup, but Vosberg hit one-of-two shots at the charity stripe immediately after. She then capitalized on a Zephyrs turnover for two more points.

As the clock showed 1:34 to play in the first half, SMC made its final 2-pointer ahead of the break. Fortunately, the Cubans weren’t ready to stop. 

Crist made another layup with Vosberg on the assist, while Cuba City’s defense forced two turnovers sandwiched around a jump ball. Olson was on the receiving end of a bad pass, with 25 seconds to play, before getting the ball to Crist who had a catch-and-release in the paint to put the Cubans ahead during the break, 28–27.

“Right away, we started dull and didn’t get out to pressure the Zephyrs,” Olson said. “We realized once we got started that we could create turnovers, and in the second half we really put an emphasis on that.”

The defensive push helped Cuba City flip the lead to its favor after an early three from SMC, with Rowe following through on an and-one opportunity for a 31–30 lead with 16:21 to play. 

Rowe’s lead-changing free throw also signified the final exchange of the game. The Cubans worked to as much as an 40–32 advantage before the Zephyrs went on a 10–2 run, tying the game with under eight minutes to play. Rowe again worked her magic, putting in a layup, with a Crist jumper in the paint hammering home Cuba City’s advantage with 6:55 left.

As SMC continued to struggle with the Cubans’ defensive pressure that included 10 steals overall from Vosberg, it failed to make a basket for five minutes to the 1:16-mark. Vosberg’s steal total marks her as second in the history of state tournament in Division 4 in steals behind an 11-steal performance from Tiffany Flesch (Potosi; Class of ‘99) in 1999 against Flambeau. The aforementioned senior drained a layup to put the split at 50-45 for Cuba City with 1:38 on the clock.

“Ella had a bunch of great steals in her gap help, and it just rushed them a little bit, which worked out for us,” Olson said.

The Zephyrs made a layup ahead of Olson making three total free throws in two trips to the line over the closing 60 seconds. SMC ended the game making a buzzer-beating three, but with the gap favoring Cuba City ahead of the shot, 53-47, the result didn’t matter.

The gold ball was returning to Cuba City, Wis. for the 12th time, further extending the Cubans’ own record. They also now own the most titles among all basketball programs in the state, breaking a tie with D5 boys’ program, Randolph. 

“There’s so many that came before us that have done so much for the game,” Derby said. “For myself — I mean Jerry Petitgoue and Jeff Pustina —  they’re just amazing basketball minds, and to get to have conversations with them is special.”

“I think it’s really cool, because these girls have started realizing how special the community support is too,” Derby added. “There’s a game when we seem to have more fans [than the other team], and another game where we seem to have more fans. It’s not because other teams don’t have them — it’s because Cuba City is special.”

The community impact wasn’t lost on Vosberg, either. 

“The community and the little kids coming mean the world to us,” she said. “I can remember when I was a little kid coming up here to watch the other teams. That will definitely leave a big impact, and I’m really happy to be a part of it.”

From losing the Regional final in 2022, to improving to the Sectional final in 2023, then the State finals in 2024, and finally the gold ball this season, the Cuba City girls are no stranger to growth.

“Freshman year, we were all so devastated when we lost to Aquinas in the Regional final,” Olson said on her journey with the team. “Then again against Aquinas in the sectional final sophomore year, and every year we’ve gotten to the finals and lost. To finally pull it out, play our hardest, and win with this group of girls who have been here the entire time is super special, and I wouldn’t have wanted to do it with anybody else.”

“It’s a really special group, and to make that progress each year has been fun,” Derby added on. “There’s so many things that have to go right to get to state, and [Olson] said that ‘we’re going to be back.’ She goes and gets it when she says she’s gonna do something. She put in the work and her teammates felt the same way about it. They committed and gave themselves the chance, and sometimes those chances work out.”

Four Cubans scored in double figures in their bid for a title — Rowe (15 points), Vosberg (14), Olson (12) and Crist (10). Vosberg’s total ensured her a double-double in her last trip on the court. Summer Rogers was the only other Cuba City athlete on the boards with two points.

The Cubans earned the right to play in the title game with a win in a semifinal game over top-seeded and top-ranked The Prairie School (26–3) two days prior, 68–63, behind 28 points and 11 rebounds from Vosberg.

WIAA Division 4 State Championship
#4 Cuba City 53, #2 St. Mary Catholic 50
(from Saturday, Mar. 15 @ Resch Center, Green Bay)
Cuba City.................28  25 — 53 
St. Mary Catholic...27  23 — 50   
Cuba City (23–5) — Rowe 15, Vosberg 14, Olson 12, Crist 10, Rogers 2. Totals — 22-58 6-11 53.
3-point goals — CC: 3-14 (Rowe 2, Olson 1). Team fouls — CC: 8. Fouled out — none.

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