Wildcat girls advance to regional final

• Lexi Knotek

River Falls’ junior Lexi Knotek drives to the basket for two of her game-high 23 points in the Wildcats’ 60-51 victory over Sparta Tuesday night. Bob Burrows photo.

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The eighth-seeded River Falls girls’ basketball team held off a late charge by No. 9 Sparta to post a 60-51 victory in a WIAA Division 2 semifinal Tuesday night in River Falls.

The Wildcats (13-10) advance to face top-seed La Crosse Logan (18-4) in the regional final this Friday, March 9, at 7 p.m. in La Crosse.

River Falls led by 12, 36-24, midway through the third quarter before Sparta (7-16) pulled to within one, 41-40, with 6 minutes, 45 seconds remaining in the game. The Wildcats answered with a 9-2 run to make it an eight-point game, 50-42, on a pair of free throws by Lexi Knotek with 4:33 left.

Sparta closed the gap to four, 53-49, with 2:20 remaining, but a layup by Rachel Matzek and two free throws by Abby Purfeerst extended the lead back to eight, 57-49, with 1:54 remaining.

The Cats hit 3-of-4 free throws in the final 1:19 to salt away the win.

Knotek led River Falls with 23 points, including three three-pointers, while sophomore Amanda Rohl finished with nine points.

See the March 14 print edition of the River Falls Journal for more on the game and Tuesday’s regional final at La Crosse Logan.

Tags: sports, wildcats, basketball, prep