Matt Queen/Reporting: What a season for girls high school basketball in Western Wisconsin. Some of the best in the entire state. We had record breakers, buzzer beaters, upset victories, and a pair of area teams who wrote another chapter in their programs' legacies by returning to the state tournament in Madison.

For the Durand Panthers, it was a trip 12 years in the making. Three straight appearances in the regional finals made a hungry quintet of seniors determined to break through the wall. Led by our player of the year Samantha Hoyt, and our co-coach of the year, Todd Poeschel, the Panthers proved their mettle, making state and dispatching Green Bay Notre Dame, before falling two points short of the Division 2 state championship.
Sam Hoyt: "...It was a great season. We got the silver ball, and now they'll remember us. They'll see it in the case and say, who was on that team, what year was that. It's nice that we could bring that back to Durand."
Hoyt averaged 17.1 points per game, and delivered when her team needed her most. Down ten to Grafton in the 4th quarter of the title game, Hoyt put the Panthers on her back scoring 17 points in a frantic finish that showed why Hoyt was named 3rd team All-State.
Sam Hoyt: "...I just wanted to win so bad. But to get 2nd place, we can't really be disappointed."

While it was a culmination of sorts for Durand, Fall Creek's road to state didn't show up on most people's maps. The Crickets' bump in the road, a 3-3 start that left their coach wondering where things would turn next.
Jason Martzke: "I don't know if we ever realized we could get down to Madison. I think the Osseo-Fairchild win was a turning point. They really started playing as a team."
Cassia Anderson: "We came together at the right time...We all started believing in eachother and our defense came around, too."
Fall Creek embodied the team concept and put the pieces together, upsetting Neillsville in the regional finals and outlasting top-seeded Prescott in the sectional championship.
Forward Cassia Anderson rose to the occasion in her junior season, averaging 13 points and five rebounds per game, along with our other co-coach of the year, Jason Martzke, they drove the Cricket Crazies to state for the first time since 1997.
Cassia: "Coming out of the shadows was the best part, because nobody thought we were going to make it to state. Now we're where everybody's been dreaming of forever, and it's come true."
Jason: "It was great for the kids, school, and community to come together."
Fall Creek came out on top in a D-3 sectional that was loaded with great teams and outstanding players.

For the Colfax Vikings and senior Courtney Doucette, a second half comeback by Prescott ended their bid for back-to-back trips to state.
However, Doucette was named 4th team All-Sate, she also graduates as a 1,000 point scorer, who says what really counts to her are her memories she has playing for her dad, Coach Joe Doucette.
Courtney Doucette: "I can't wait to come back with my kids and show the trophies and show them what me and my dad did for the program. I won't remember just one game, but all the friendships I made with this team."

Another Hoop Hero whose hopes of making it back to state came up short was Altoona's Brittany Gregorich. The Rails' senior guard finished her outstanding career as an All-State honorable mention performer. She eclipsed the 1,000 point plateau, and very nearly averaged a double-double this season, with 14.9 points, and 9.8 rebounds per game.
Next year, Brittany will take that to UW-River Falls, where she'll see some familiar faces, including her sister Tiffany.
Brittany Gregorich: "I'm really looking forward to next year. I know all the girls. I've played with them, and I've played against them. The WIAC is a tough league, and I'm just really excited."

Taking her game to Division 1 Kent State University next year is Eau Claire North standout Sam Price. The Huskies' senior averaged 12 and a half points per game, as North followed up a season-opening loss to Marshfield by rattling off a 20-game winning streak. That run took the Huskies all the way to the sectional finals, where for the second year in a row, their state tournament hopes were dashed by the dreaded Tigers.
"...Then they told us that we shot like 25 percent...it just wasn't our night, and it was their night. It's great to be part of a great program like this one. We talked with them and told them to keep their heads up and work hard. I'm excited for next year's team, because there's a lot they can do."

Steady is the word that describes Katey Wrobel's game. The Osseo-Fairchild senior averaged 17 points per game, and along with fellow senior Laura Peterson, combined for one of the best 1-2 combos in the area.
Wrobel will play college ball next year at Minnesota-Moorhead, and this year, her leadership helped the Chieftains to a 19-3 record, and the championship of the demanding Cloverbelt conference.
Katey Wrobel: "Our conference was so tough. We had adversity along the way, too and we got through it all together. Everybody knew what they were working towards."
Osseo-Fairchild's season came to an end on their home court in the Division 3 regional semifinals. Leading Eau Claire Regis by 11 with five minutes to play, that's when our next hoop hero stepped up.

Ramblers point guard Kara Poirier sparked a comeback. Regis forced overtime, and with 17 seconds left, Poirier capped it off with a deep "3" for the game-winner. A shot her coach says is indicative of the kind of player she is.
Brady Hoolihan: "During the last four years, I didn't have to worry about what the team was doing, because she was on the same page as me, and sometimes a page ahead of me. She's one of the best point guards in the area."

As far as forwards go, Amery lays claim to one of the best in the state. Taylor Luke garnered All-State honorable mention, the senior averaged 15.7 points and 4 rebounds per game. As the Warriors won 22 games and advanced to the D2 sectional finals.

Barron guard Jordyn Hover is a hoop hero for her performance at the end of the Bears' D2 regional final game against Altoona. Tied at 44, Hover, a junior, stripped the Rails' Brittany Gregorich and fired the outlet pass to the streaking Moriah Berg. Her lay-up beating the buzzer and the Rails, sendin Barron on to the sectional semis.

Neillsville's Sheila Opelt was a key cog for a Warriors team that went undefeated in the Cloverbelt conference regular season and finished with a 21-2 record. Opelt scored just under 11 points per game, and was a unanimous choice for first-team all Eastern Cloverbelt.

And there you have it, the 2009 girls hoops heroes squad. Congratulations and thank you to all of our nominees for a great season.