GILLETT — A memorable season for the Florence Ladycats ended Friday night when they dropped a 47-44 nail-biter to the Gillett Tigers in a WIAA Division 5 regional semifinal game at Gillett.

“This was one of the best girls basketball teams we’ve had here in a while,” Florence varsity coach Brad Petty said. “To win 16 games this season, I couldn’t be prouder of them. The mix we had of (different classes), we really jelled well. The team chemistry was excellent.”

The fifth-seeded Ladycats trailed the fourth-seeded Tigers 24-21 at the halftime break. The game stayed tight, and in the final minute, the Ladycats, down three, had fouls to give. However, they were unable to chase down Gillett ballhanders often enough to force the Tigers to shoot free throws.

“I said, ‘Take a chance to make a steal,’ because we had fouls to give,” Perry said. “But we were just gassed.

“I’m proud of their effort. We had a chance. That’s all you can ask for.”

Sophomore Isabella Millan paced Florence (16-8) with 16 points and added eight rebounds and five assists. Freshman Kamdan Johnson scored 10 points and also hauled down eight rebounds and recorded three assists. Victoria Peterson logged eight points and six rebounds.

For the second game in a row, the Ladycats played without injured senior starter Audrey Selden. She, along with fellow seniors Kiera Sullivan and Paige Uren, will have to be replaced next season, but Perry’s team has much to look forward to in 2022-23.

Norway crushes Rapid River despite slow start

RAPID RIVER — In their final regular-season game, the Norway Knights traveled to Rapid River and seemed to leave their game on the bus in the early going on Friday night. But they quickly recovered and dispatched the Rockets 55-25 in a Skyline Central Conference girls varsity basketball game Friday night.

“An extremely slow start,” Norway coach Joe Tinti said. “Picked it up in the second half and (that) allowed us to play the entire bench. It was an exciting game to watch so many girls contribute.”

The Knights (10-9) expanded their 6-5 lead after the opening quarter to take a 20-13 advantage into halftime. In the second half, Norway pulled away by outscoring Rapid River 35-12.

Andi Carlson led the Knights with 21 points.

Norway will host Forest Park in the first round of district play on Monday. The Knights head into the tournament having won four of their last five games.

“Hopefully, we can play some of the best basketball of the year (this) week,” Tinti said.