Whitefish Bay's Blue Dukes claimed their first state championship in program history Saturday, holding off Beaver Dam 64-63 in a back-and-forth Division 2 State Championship game that featured 14 lead changes.The Blue Dukes had already made history before the final buzzer, tying the record for most made threes in a Division 2 State gamea record they had set earlier in the weekendand doing so again in the championship.Watch: The Whitefish Bay Blue Dukes girls basketball program has won its first ever WIAA Division 2 State Championship. Whitefish Bay wins first state championship in program history with 64-63 victory over Beaver DamWhitefish Bay used a 14-0 run spanning the end of the first half and start of the second to build as much as a 17-point lead, but Beaver Dam answered with a 19-2 run of their own to tie the game at 49 with under 10 minutes to go.From there, the game was shot-for-shot down the stretch. With under a minute left, Sage Miskel finished down low to give the Blue Dukes a 64-63 lead. A game-winning defensive stop by Carrington Balthasar sealed the victory and Whitefish Bay's first gold ball.Miskel finished with 18 points and 6 rebounds. Madeline Volpe added 12 points. Rowan Counsell was on triple-double watch, finishing with 10 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists.Head coach Jon Schneider said the outcome came down to just enough execution when it mattered most."We knew it was going to be a battle. Two very evenly matched teams and very similar teams in terms of guard play and intensity, and it was back and forth. We opened up a little bit of a nice lead in the second half, and they did what they do. They're in the state championship for a reason. They came back, but we held them off just enough and did enough to get the victory," Schneider said.Miskel reflected on the work the team put in throughout the season."All season, we've put in so much time and effort, and every day we just go and try to get better, and it really paid off in the end, so I think we're just really proud of how much work we've put in to get here," Miskel said.Volpe credited the team's mentality for carrying them through the ups and downs of the game."Our word for this year was relentless, and tonight we really showed that, and I'm just so proud that we persevered because we definitely had ups and downs in that game, and we just kept going, and we all came together as a team and got the job done," Volpe said.For Beaver Dam, Joelee Drzonek led the Beavers with 19 points, going 4-for-4 from three. Senior Nataya Donaldson, a UW-Milwaukee signee, recorded a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Emma Julka added 13 points. Beaver Dam finished the season 23-7. It was the program's seventh state appearance and third time as state champions.Whitefish Bay finished the season 26-4.This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.Its about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for TMJ4 on your device.Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.Report a typo or error ...read more read less