ASHWAUBENON, Wis. (NBC 26) — Notre Dame Academy is on the cusp of history.
The Tritons girls basketball team beat Wauwatosa East, 82-44, in Friday's WIAA Division 2 state semifinal game. Now they'll play for their fourth straight state championship on Saturday, which would be a Wisconsin record.
- Notre Dame is already one of only six teams in state history to win three consecutive state titles. A win tomorrow would make them the first to win four in a row.
- NDA jumped out to a 17-2 lead and led wire-to-wire in their semifinal victory over Tosa East.
- All five Tritons starters scored in double figures, led by senior PG Trista Fayta who had 18.
- Fayta and Gracie Grzesk both had 10 assists in the game.
- It's time for a rematch! Notre Dame and Pewaukee will square off in the Division 2 state championship for the third straight season.
- While the Tritons have beaten the Pirates in the last two title games, Pewaukee did beat Notre Dame, 60-52, back in the regular season opener in November.
- Saturday's title game tips off at 6:35 at the Resch Center.
Notre Dame's senior class has a shot at history on Saturday.
If the Tritons win the Division 2 state championship, seniors Trista Fayta, Gracie Grzesk, Sydney Whitehouse and Hannah Greisen will have won a state title in all four years of their high school career.
"I don't even have words," Fayta said of Notre Dame's shot at history. "It's definitely special because not everyone even goes to state."
"Just having a good team, having a good coach, being able to be here for a fourth time in a row to make history," she added. "It's just absolutely incredible."
"It's special," Grzesk agreed. "To be a senior, too... it makes me emotional. But I'm excited."
To do it, they'll have to get by the only team to defeat them this season: No. 1 seed Pewaukee.
Notre Dame has beaten Pewaukee in each of the past two state championship games, but the Pirates got the better of the Tritons this year - beating them 60-52 in the regular season-opener in November.
"They were very physical with us. Our offense was really stagnant," Notre Dame head coach Sara Rohde said, reflecting on the first matchup. "I'm sure on both ends (of the floor Saturday) it's going to be a dogfight."
Fayta noted the length of the court as an advantage for Notre Dame this time around.
The court at the Resch Center is college-length at 94 feet, 10 feet longer than the standard high school court. That can be an advantage for the Tritons, who play a full-court press from start to finish.
"At the beginning of the season we weren't as conditioned as we are now," Fayta said. "It's obviously a bigger floor, a lot more people, so I think we're good now and we're ready to play them."
"We've conditioned all season long and we've prepared for this moment," Grzesk said. "Just as a team... our chemistry on and off the court we've grown (since then)."
