Superior moved a step closer to its first Wisconsin Division 1 boys basketball state tournament berth since 1974 with a 47-34 win over Marshfield on Thursday night at Eau Claire North High School.
The Spartans (21-4) play Stevens Point at 4 p.m. Saturday at Wausau West for a berth in next weekend’s state tournament at the Kohl Center in Madison.
Stevens Point (24-1) advanced with a 50-47 win over Neenah.
Superior used an 11-2 run to open up a 21-11 lead in the first half. Brandon Myer converted a pair of offensive rebounds into baskets and Nick Mehlum had a three-point play during that span. Myer finished with a team-high 15 points and Mehlum added 13.
Girls basketball
Esko 63, Eveleth-Gilbert 32
The top-seeded Eskomos relied on a stifling defense to shut down the Golden Bears in a Section 7AA semifinal at Romano Gym.
Ava Gonsorowski, Molly Trapp and Bailey Mudek all scored in double figures while Esko (25-4) held Eveleth-Gilbert (16-13) to 13 first-half points.
The Eskomos will face International Falls in Saturday’s 7 p.m. championship game at Romano Gym.
Maija DePaulis paced the Golden Bears with 14 points.
International Falls 55, Rush City 52
Teagan Anderson scored 19 points and made five 3-pointers and the Broncos held off a late charge by Rush City to claim a berth in the 7AA title game.
International Falls (23-6) led 30-18 at halftime before the Tigers (20-5) rallied to make the score close.
The Broncos reached the section final for the first time after four previous failures.
Assumption 57, South Shore 43
Despite a Division 5 state tournament record 30 points from Megan Gustafson, Wisconsin’s all-time leading girls scorer, the Cardinals lost their state semifinal game at the Resch Center in Green Bay.
The University of Iowa signee made 12 of 16 field goals and grabbed 18 rebounds in the loss.
Gustafson averaged 40.2 points per game this season and set single-season and single-game scoring marks to go along with her career mark.
