GREEN BAY, Wis. — The bounce, break or big play that Clear Lake needed just never materialized.

Lena made just enough plays down the stretch for a 53-48 victory over the Warriors in the Division 5 semifinals of the Wisconsin girls state high school basketball tournament Friday.

Nora Eggert nailed a 3-pointer from the right side and Ellie Cress hit a pair of free throws to pull Clear Lake within 52-48 with 27.8 seconds left.

Lena left the door open by missing 3 of 4 free throws in the final 25 seconds, but the Warriors turned it over on their final two hurried possessions.

“They hit timely shots when they needed to, especially in that first half,” Clear Lake coach Chad Eggert said. “And then we couldn’t quite get over that hump the second half. We’d get close, they’d make another big bucket, or get out on us and get an easy transition bucket. We just couldn’t quite get there.”

Nora Eggert, the coach’s daughter, finished her high school career with 12 points, including three 3-pointers, but was the only Warrior in double figures. Brenna Peterson had a team-high 10 rebounds.

Third-seeded Clear Lake (26-4) shot just 28.6%, making 12 of 42 field goal attempts. The Warriors also turned it over 24 times, which Lena converted into 20 points.

Eva Brooks had 23 points and 14 boards for Lena, which shot 42.2%. Madi Thomson added 12 points and 11 rebounds. The Wildcats hung on despite making just 9 of 26 free throws, all in the second half.

“Even though we were maybe only five or six (down), and maybe it got to nine or so, we were the ones that seemed like we had to battle the whole game,” Chad Eggert said. “But give credit to Lena. They’re good. They’re down here, too, for a reason.”

The second-seeded Wildcats (28-2) advanced to Saturday’s title game against fourth-seeded Albany/Monticello (26-3), which upset top-ranked Argyle/Pecatonica 37-31 in the opening semifinal.

Clear Lake went almost four minutes without a field goal midway through the second half but managed to make it one-possession game when Shelby Meyer scored down low to trim the deficit to 35-32.

Clear Lake had several chances to cut into the lead but missed the front end of a bonus and its next two field-goal attempts. Thomson then went the other way with a turnover for a three-point play to make it 38-32.

The Warriors missed consecutive 3-pointers and Thomson scored on a drive to put Lena up 40-32 with 6:46 remaining.

Kali Fischer hit a pair of free throws — Lena’s first of the game — to give the Wildcats a 29-22 lead. Clear Lake scored its next four points from the line and Eggert tied it with a 3-pointer.

The Warriors hit four of their first nine shots, including 2 of 5 from beyond the arc, but also turned it over seven times over that span.

Meyer snapped a scoreless streak of almost 3 minutes with a layup to bring Clear Lake even at 20-20 with 1:24 left in the first half, but Lena scored the final five points before the break.

“I’m super proud of our team and just getting to the state tournament was super fun,” Nora Eggert said. “I’m so proud of all of us. We created really close bonds this year, which was really fun. We fought hard but just couldn’t do it. But I’m proud to make it here.”

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The bounce, break or big play that Clear Lake needed just never materialized.

Lena made just enough plays down the stretch for a 53-48 victory over the Warriors in the Division 5 semifinals of the Wisconsin girls state high school basketball tournament Friday.

Nora Eggert nailed a 3-pointer from the right side and Ellie Cress hit a pair of free throws to pull Clear Lake within 52-48 with 27.8 seconds left.

Lena left the door open by missing 3 of 4 free throws in the final 25 seconds, but the Warriors turned it over on their final two hurried possessions.

“They hit timely shots when they needed to, especially in that first half,” Clear Lake coach Chad Eggert said. “And then we couldn’t quite get over that hump the second half. We’d get close, they’d make another big bucket, or get out on us and get an easy transition bucket. We just couldn’t quite get there.”

Nora Eggert, the coach’s daughter, finished her high school career with 12 points, including three 3-pointers, but was the only Warrior in double figures. Brenna Peterson had a team-high 10 rebounds.

Third-seeded Clear Lake (26-4) shot just 28.6%, making 12 of 42 field goal attempts. The Warriors also turned it over 24 times, which Lena converted into 20 points.

Eva Brooks had 23 points and 14 boards for Lena, which shot 42.2%. Madi Thomson added 12 points and 11 rebounds. The Wildcats hung on despite making just 9 of 26 free throws, all in the second half.

“Even though we were maybe only five or six (down), and maybe it got to nine or so, we were the ones that seemed like we had to battle the whole game,” Chad Eggert said. “But give credit to Lena. They’re good. They’re down here, too, for a reason.”

The second-seeded Wildcats (28-2) advanced to Saturday’s title game against fourth-seeded Albany/Monticello (26-3), which upset top-ranked Argyle/Pecatonica 37-31 in the opening semifinal.

Clear Lake went almost four minutes without a field goal midway through the second half but managed to make it one-possession game when Shelby Meyer scored down low to trim the deficit to 35-32.

Clear Lake had several chances to cut into the lead but missed the front end of a bonus and its next two field-goal attempts. Thomson then went the other way with a turnover for a three-point play to make it 38-32.

The Warriors missed consecutive 3-pointers and Thomson scored on a drive to put Lena up 40-32 with 6:46 remaining.

Kali Fischer hit a pair of free throws — Lena’s first of the game — to give the Wildcats a 29-22 lead. Clear Lake scored its next four points from the line and Eggert tied it with a 3-pointer.

The Warriors hit four of their first nine shots, including 2 of 5 from beyond the arc, but also turned it over seven times over that span.

Meyer snapped a scoreless streak of almost 3 minutes with a layup to bring Clear Lake even at 20-20 with 1:24 left in the first half, but Lena scored the final five points before the break.

“I’m super proud of our team and just getting to the state tournament was super fun,” Nora Eggert said. “I’m so proud of all of us. We created really close bonds this year, which was really fun. We fought hard but just couldn’t do it. But I’m proud to make it here.”