Signe Fronek, Julia Seidel lead Newman Catholic past Gillett in sectional final

APPLETON – Signe Fronek and Julia Seidel have acted as the Newman Catholic girls basketball team's leading scorers for much of the 2017-18 season.

Things were no different on Saturday, when the duo combined for 40 points to power Newman Catholic to a 52-40 win over Gillett in a Division 5 sectional final at Appleton East High School.

Seidel helped her team out to a comfortable first half lead after knocking down four 3-pointers. Seidel finished the half with 16 points.

“Before the game, we talked about how we needed to come out strong and that’s really what I tried to do,” Seidel said. “We got the ball out in transition with good defense and box outs and that allowed me to get those good shots.”

Fronek added 10 points in the half, with four of the points coming at the free throw line.

After a rough start, Gillett was able to settle in. The Tigers started attacking the middle of Newman Catholic’s defense, earning numerous trips to the free throw line.

Gillett converted seven free throws and hit a pair of key 3-pointers to hang around and only trail by 11 points at halftime. Sydney Young was the Tigers’ top scorer in the half with six points.

After making some halftime adjustments, Gillett used a quick 12-1 run to tie the game at 31. Taylor Yonker connected on two 3-pointers to lead the charge.

“This game validates our entire season,” Yonker said. “We have come out slow the last couple of games but our resilience and perseverance to fight back definitely defines us as a team."

Newman Catholic responded with an 11-1 run of its own to take a 42-32 lead with 9:30 to play.

Down double digits again, the Tigers were able to mount another rally. Gillett cut the deficit to four with 4:45 remaining before the Cardinals secured the victory with an 8-0 run to end the contest.

“We stayed pretty calm and collected and were able to weather the storm,” Newman Catholic coach Jason Vanden Elzen said. “We took their best punches and we came back with our own.”

Fronek tallied 11 second half points and led the Cardinals with 21 points in the game. Seidel finished with 19 points while Jadelyn Ganski and Lauren Shields each added six.

With the win, the Cardinals punched their ticket to the state basketball tournament. Newman Catholic will be making its 11th appearance at state, looking to win its first title since 2011.

“This (making it to state) is so surreal to me,” Fronek, a senior, said. “It’s honestly the best feeling ever. I’ve been dreaming about this since I started playing basketball.”

Newman Catholic will play in one of the two Division 5 state semifinals, which begin at 9:05 a.m. on Friday at the Resch Center in Green Bay.

Yonker, a senior, led the way for Gillett with 14 points. The Tigers will also graduate Kalea Britton, Faith Sorlie, Kaitlyn Schaal and Willow Pecha.

“I’m definitely going to remember all of my teammates,” Yonker said. “It’s not very often that you can say freshmen through senior work and bond as well as we did. I wasn’t ever afraid to go into battle with them.”

Young added eight points while Schall and Aubrey DeBauch each posted six.

Gillett finishes the year with a 20-7 record, finishing just a game shy of its first-ever state berth.

“We finally got over the hump of making it past regionals,” Gillett coach Justin Daul said. “To get this far was just amazing, especially with the community support we had. We had a great group of seniors and a great group of young kids coming up, so it’s not far-fetched to think we can get here the next couple years.”

Newman Catholic 30 22 – 52

Gillett 19 21 – 40

Newman Catholic (52): Signe Fronek 21, Lauren Shields 6, Jadelyn Ganski 6, Julia Seidel 19.

Gillett (40): Sydney Young 8, Aubrey DeBauch 6, Faith Sorlie 2, Kaitlyn Schaal 6, Taylor Yonker 14, Karissa Schaal 4.

3-pointers: Newman Catholic 5 (Seidel 5); Gillett 4 (Yonker 3, Young).

Records: Newman Catholic 21-6; Gillett 20-7.