The Madison Lady Bulldogs (#7, 12-8) claimed a commanding 48-24 victory over Fairfield (#10/9-12) on Tuesday, Feb. 24 and advanced to semifinal action on Monday, March 2, facing Pretty Prairie (#2/19-2) at Pretty Prairie.
In the quarterfinal round, Madison hosted the Trojans of Fairfield last week. The Lady Dawgs came out strong, building a 13-5 lead after the first quarter. They continued to control the tempo in the second, heading into halftime with a commanding 26-13 advantage. Momentum stayed with Madison in the third quarter as they stretched the lead to 38-20.
The Lady Dawgs sealed the deal in the fourth, earning a decisive 48-24 victory. Scoring for Madison were Caylin Luthi and Sadie Albert with 15 each, Jenna Thomsen 7, Molly Dannels 5, Rylee Darbro 4 and Kam White 2 points.
With the win, the girls advanced to semifinal action on Monday night. The championship game will be held in Madison on Saturday, March 7, TBD.
Madison Boys
In boys action, Madison (#6/14-6) faced off against Skyline (#11/5-16) in a first round game that proved to be a battle to the final buzzer.
Madison started strong, closing the first quarter with an 18-10 lead. However, a tough second quarter saw shots refusing to fall and turnovers piling up. Despite the struggles, the boys managed to take a slim 22-21 lead into halftime.
The contest remained tight throughout the third quarter, with Madison holding a narrow 42-41 edge heading into the final frame. In the end, Skyline pulled off the upset, handing Madison a heartbreaking 54-52 loss.
Turnovers and missed opportunities at the freethrow line proved costly, as Madison shot just 7-of-19 from the charity stripe.
Bulldog Senior Octavian Dean led the team in scoring with 19 points, pushing him over the 1,000 point career mark. He concluded his time on the court at Madison with 1,001 points.
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Also scoring for Madison were Brayden Grimmett 12, Cooper Luthi added 6 points, while Javier Alba Mendez, Lane Smith, and Cory Yowell each finished with 5.
