In the most exciting game of the girls basketball state tournament to this point, Wauwatosa East held off Notre Dame for a 62-58 win in a Division 2 girls basketball semifinal contest.

Tosa East senior Mikaia Litza stepped to the line for bonus free throws with 5.4 seconds left to give the Red Raiders a two-score advantage and close out an highly entertaining matchup.

Notre Dame had a chance to tie or take the lead on the previous possession, trailing by two with under 30 seconds left, but the Tritons threw a post entry pass out of bounds, failing to get a shot off in a key moment.

Nursing a six-point lead after Maisie Hinz converted inside for Notre Dame with 4:27 left in the game, Wauwatosa East attempted to put the game on ice, spreading it out and slowing the pace. Tosa East burned more than two minutes off the clock, as Notre Dame pressured but didn’t double or foul immediately. However, Ellie Pudelko missed the front end of the bonus with 2:13 left.

Notre Dame would get a Kaia Waldrop layup just inside two minutes, and forced a held ball that gave them possession with 1:28 left on the clock. Destiny Webster converted in the paint with 1:09 left to pull the Tritons to within 60-58, but following a missed Wauwatosa East turnover, Notre Dame committed the key miscue at the end.

Wauwatosa East led 33-27 at halftime, helped in part by just one turnover. All five starters had at least five points in that first half for the Red Raiders. Litsa had six points to go with five assists.

Emma Close got hot in the second half, scoring 11 points in a three-minute stretch for Wauwatosa East. She finished the game with a team-high 21 points, connecting on five, three-pointers. Litza had 14, including the game-sealing free throws, adding eight assits and five rebounds. Ellie Pudelko (12 points) and Ellie DePrey (10) scored into double figures as well.

Notre Dame was led by 16 from senior Kaia Waldrop, who also had a game-high 13 rebounds. Freshman Ava Cumicek had 12 points for the Tritons.

Wauwatosa East won the Division 2 state championship last year, and is elevated to Division 2 by the WIAA’s Performance Factor this year. They will be going for their third title overall on Saturday.

Earlier in the day, Natalie Kussow was recognized as the 2026 WBCA Ms. Basketball. She proved why in a dominating performance to lift Arrowhead to a 72-49 victory over Pewaukee in a Division 1 state semifinal.

Kussow finished with 26 points, nine rebounds, and two steals in just 28 minutes of action as the Warhawks were able to rest several key players down the stretch.

Arrowhead never trailed in the game, getting on the board first when Presly Samz converted in the lane. The only other time the game was tied was when Vanessa Johnson converted a layup on the ensuing Pewaukee possession, as Arrowhead led for a total of 35:06 out of the 36-minute game.

The Warhawks built a double-digit lead less than seven minutes into the game, and pushed that to 23 points at halftime when Natalie Kussow scored on a fast break with 30 seconds left, giving the team a 43-29 advantage at the break.

Arrowhead got strong contributions from the entire starting group, each of whom had at least eight points. Karina Klemz joined Kussow in double figures with 11. Junior point guard Sidney Zehner was extremely efficient for head coach Ron Reichle, scoring eight points with six assists and three steals. Elly Peterson came off the bench to make all three of her field goal attempts, finishing with seven points.

It was a highly-efficient performance for Arrowhead, who shot 51% overall, 47% from three, and 75% from the free throw line. Meanwhile, Pewaukee was limited to just 32% in the game and 23% from behind the arc.

Arrowhead had significant advantages in all categories, including a 32-10 edge in points off turnovers, 40-26 on points in the paint, 27-11 on fast break points, and 8-2 on second chance points.

Pewaukee’s season comes to an end, though senior Giselle Janowski did all she could for the Pirates. The Wisconsin recruit had 21 points and seven rebounds in her final high school contest. Vanessa Johnson added 12.

Arrowhead moves on to its fourth WIAA state championship game, having captured a gold ball in the three previous appearances, including 2024.