March 2017

It’s the matchup they all wanted.

A chance for redemption. An opportunity to silence the doubters.

Middleton’s boys basketball team lost a pair of games to Madison Memorial this season. But the Cardinals were hoping to get another crack at the mighty Spartans.

That chance will come Thursday when Middleton and Memorial meet in a WIAA Division 1 sectional semifinal at Sun Prairie High School at 7 p.m. The winner advances to the sectional finals at Sun Prairie on Saturday at 1 p.m.

“We can’t wait to get them a third time,” Middleton senior forward Myron Ashford Jr. said. “They’ve got us twice this year and we wanted this chance for a long time. So I’m glad it’s them.”

Madison Memorial, the No. 2 seed in the sectional, won a share of its 14^th straight Big Eight Conference championship this season. The Spartans (21-3) have won 17 of their last 18 games and routed their two regional opponents by an average of 22.0 points.

The concept has a glorious ring to it, which was music to Bria Lemirande’s ears.

“The greatest team in the history of girls basketball at Middleton.”

That’s what Lemirande and the Cardinals will be gunning for this weekend.

Middleton advanced to the state tournament for the 10^th time in school history and will meet DePere in a WIAA Division 1 semifinal game Friday at 8:15 p.m. at the Resch Center in Green Bay.

The first nine Middleton teams to reach the state tournament fell short of winning a championship. These Cardinals know with a win Friday — and another in Saturday’s title game — they’ll be remembered as the greatest team in school history.

“I think definitely that’s a good push, something to talk about,” said Lemirande, whose team brings a 23-3 record to state. “It’s like, ‘Guys, we have a chance here to be the first team to win state.’ That’s exciting.”

For nearly four seasons now, Middleton’s Alexis Thomas has had a knack for making big plays.

There was a three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Cardinals a memorable overtime win at Janesville Craig in 2016. Thomas helped key a second half run in Middleton’s win over Janesville Parker in a regional final.

But Thomas may have had her signature moments in a Middleton uniform Thursday night.

With the Cardinals trailing top-seeded Mukwonago, 59-56, in a WIAA Division 1 sectional semifinal, Thomas drained consecutive three-pointers in a 35-second span late in the second half. Those cold-blooded triples helped propel fourth-seeded Middleton to a 71-66 win over the Indians.

“I’ve definitely been working on my shot,” said Thomas, who led all scorers with 22 points. “I’ve been a little up and down this year. But I was mostly on tonight.”

After watching Verona claim a state title last year, Middleton’s girls’ basketball team is hoping it’s their turn.

The Cardinals took a huge step in that direction with a 63-53 victory over the defending champion Wildcats in a WIAA Division 1 regional final last Saturday night.

“We told ourselves this is one of the biggest games we’re ever going to play,” Middleton senior forward Carlee Lemirande said.

It was Middleton’s third victory over Verona this season.

“Both teams played really hard, it was a good battle,” Middleton coach Jeff Kind said. “Playing a team like that for the third time of the year you know it’s tough to beat a team that third time. We’re so familiar with each other that it was actually a pretty good defensive battle for the most part.”