Heading into Monday’s state quarterfinal matchup against Beloit-St. John/Tipton, Wetmore girl’s head coach Adam Maas knew that his girls were going to have to find a way to try to limit Blujay senior Lauryn Dubert who is one of the top players in the state.

Dubert came into the game averaging 22 points a night along with 6 rebounds and quickly showed why she is so highly touted, delivering 26 points as the Cardinals saw their season end with a 52-40 loss.

The Cardinals hung tough early and trailed just 8-7 after the first quarter despite turning the basketball over five times in the frame.

Turnovers would wind up being an issue all night long for the Cardinals and Dubert was able to take advantage in the second shaking free for a 3-pointer and adding a pull-up jumper to have 10 points at the half giving the Lady Jays a 19-13 lead at the break.

Wetmore would turn the ball over eight more times in the third quarter and quickly found themselves down 20 points, but the Cardinals continued to battle and thanks to five free throws from junior Kenzie Strathman it was down to a 12-point deficit heading into the fourth.

In the fourth the Cardinals got it down to an 8-point deficit and had four straight good looks at the basket to trim it even closer, but the shots stopped falling and St. John went 6-of-8 from the free throw line to seal it.

The Cardinals finished with 20 turnovers in the loss which was the difference while Strathman led the way with 17 points on 10-of-13 shooting from the free throw line.

Reagan Osterhaus added 12 while Abby Shumaker added 5 points for the Wetmore girls who wrap up the 2020-21 season with a record of 17-8.