Senior Josie Brudos and West Salem were one of the dominating winners from the opening round of the girls basketball playoffs
Below are some quick takeaways from the first round of the girls basketball playoffs.
For the full first round results on the Bound Wisconsin scoreboard, please click here.
HOME TEAMS DOMINATE, BUT SO DO A FEW ROAD TEAMS
Higher seeded home teams went 115-23 in the first round of regionals, good for a winning percentage of 83.3%. That includes one forfeit victory for top-seeded Webster over #16 Lac Courte Oreilles in Division 5.
From a seed standpoint, the biggest upsets in round one were:
#12 Barron over #5 Menominee Nation
#12 Random Lake over #5 Horicon (OT)
#10 Burlington over #7 Wilmot
#10 Lodi over #7 Adams-Friendship (OT)
#10 Stanley-Boyd over #7 Northwestern
#10 Milwaukee School of Languages over #7 Carmen Northwest
#10 Messmer over #7 Saint Anthony
#10 Nekoosa over #7 Necedah
#10 Riverdale over #7 Parkview
Friday night’s regional semifinals will start to get really interesting, with some number one and two seeds likely to go down based on past history.
DOMINATING SCORES RULE THE NIGHT
The overall average margin of victory was 28.7 points. That includes some sizable blowouts, which are common in girls basketball as the gap between the top teams and the rest of the field widens. Sheboygan Lutheran had one of the most dominating victories of the season, beating Stockbridge 106-2. West Salem was a 103-18 winner over Wautoma, as the Panthers’ 85-point margin of victory was second in round one. A total of 39 games were decided by at least 40 points, with 21 coming by at least 50 points, 13 by at least 60, and five by at least 70.
It wasn’t just higher seeded home teams winning by sizable margins, as Johnson Creek went on the road to eat Eastbrook Academy by 55 points, 70-15. Of the 23 road wins, 14 came via double digits, eight by at least 20, and four by at least 30 points.
On the other end of the spectrum, there were 22 of the 137 games played (not counting forfeit) that were decided by single digits, including three, one-point victories: Stanley-Boyd over Northwestern, Saint Croix Falls over Ellsworth, and Bruce over Washburn. Only two other games were decided by three or less points.
TRACKING THE CHAMPIONS
All five of the defending state champions are still alive, though just one of them played in the first round of the 2026 playoffs.
D1: Kimberly - bye
D2: Wauwatosa East - bye (elevated to D1)
D3: Oostburg - bye
D4: Cuba City - bye
D5: Assumption beat Rosholt 86-9
Travis Wilson serves as the Bound Wisconsin Manager. Wilson was selected as part of the Sports 40 Under 40 list by Coach & AD Magazine and the National High School Athletic Coaches Association for 2019. The Wisconsin Football Coaches Association (WFCA) named Travis the 2015 recipient of the Dave McClain Distinguished Service Award. He currently serves on the WFCA Executive Board and is a member of the Executive Board of the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association. A graduate of Richland Center High School and Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Travis was a three-sport athlete in high school (football, baseball, basketball), inducted to the Richland Center High School Hall of Fame in 2023, and currently resides in Reedsburg. You can follow him on Twitter at @travisBound or reach him at [email protected].