Stevens Point ends De Pere’s season in sectional semifinals

PULASKI – The one-two punch of Jada Seubert and Leah Awe was too much to overcome for the De Pere girls’ basketball team. 

Behind 26 points from the junior Seubert – a verbal commit to the University of Iowa – and 21 from the sophomore Awe, No. 1-seeded Stevens Point Area Senior High (SPASH) turned back the No. 5 Redbirds in a WIAA Division 1 sectional semifinal game on March 5 at Pulaski, 67-51. 

“Obviously, Seubert and Awe were a focal point for us tonight,” De Pere Coach Jeremy Boileau said. “They did a really good job of getting downhill. We tried our best, but we didn’t quite do enough to stop them.” 

The loss ends De Pere’s season at 22-5. 

“I’m really proud of our effort,” Boileau said. “I was proud of how we started the game, and we competed at a high level. Our Achilles heel tonight was rebounding. We gave Point too many second chances, and some of those turned into and-one situations.” 

Leading 14-12 halfway through the first half, the Panthers went on a 9-0 run to seize control. 

“During that run, we struggled with our movement in our zone offense,” Boileau said. “It took us a while to figure things out – I thought our movement was a lot better in the second half.”

Senior guard Abby Tassoul – who ended her night with 21 points – nailed a trio of three-pointers in the first half for De Pere, including one with time winding down to cut the lead to 32-21 at the break. 

The Redbirds fought their way back early in the second half, cutting the margin to 39-33, but SPASH surged ahead 48-36 a few minutes later with a 9-3 run to grab the momentum back. 

“Even though our season is done, I’m proud of what this group has done as a team,” Boileau said.

Sophomore Allie Neuenfeldt chipped in 10 points for De Pere, while junior Aubree Fischer added eight points. 

De Pere loses Tassoul and Hailey Gerlikowski to graduation, but had nine underclassmen on its roster this season.