Basketball, bonding in the Dells

Sarah Aleknavicius’ final high school basketball game turned out to be preparation for the next step in her athletic career.

Aleknavicius was chosen to play in the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association All Star Game in the Wisconsin Dells, and the three-day excursion forced new teammates to forge quick friendships.

“It was actually super fun. I spend time with girls from all over the state,” Aleknavicius said.

The team took a jet boat tour, ate dinners and lunches out and attended a banquet.

“There was a lot of spending time with them outside of basketball. It was super cool how we all clicked super fast,” Aleknavicius said.

When it came time to play, Aleknavicius excelled. The North Team beat the South Team, 56-37, in a college format.

Instead of two halves, the game was broken into four quarters, and it included a 30-second shot clock.

“For all of us going to college, it was super nice to get a feel for that,” Aleknavicius said.

The shot clock, she said, didn’t make much of a difference.

“It honestly didn’t change the game that much. You just had to play with a little more urgency,” she said.

Alekanvicius scored five of her seven points in the second quarter on a three-pointer and two free throws. That’s when the North blew the game open from a 7-4 first-quarter lead into a 31-16 halftime advantage.

“We all hit a bunch of shots in a row,” Aleknavicius said.

The North extended its edge to 43-20 after three quarters.

North Shore Conference opponent Ava Fahrenholz of Slinger was one of Aleknavicius’ teammates. She scored five points.

Sydney Whitehouse of Notre Dame led the squad with 17 points.

“The game went super well. You could tell all of us haven’t played a basketball game in three months, so we got super tired at the end of it,” Aleknavicius said.

Grafton’s Savannah James was also chosen to play in the game, but an injured shoulder kept her out. She attended a youth camp at Division II Quincy University, where she will play next season, instead.

At Grafton High, Aleknavicius averaged 11.5 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. She finished with 1,205 career points.

James averaged 11 points per game and scored 1,124 career points.

This summer, Aleknavicius is working at Form & Fitness Health Club in Grafton — she gets a free membership and can workout — before attending Division II Hillsdale College in Michigan. The women’s basketball team will spend 10 days in Greece as a team-bonding trip.

“I’ve never been to Europe. The one place I always wanted to go was Greece. I cannot wait,” Aleknavicius said.

Aleknavicius plans to study biochemistry and is considering pharmaceutical school.

The games, covering Divisions 1 through 5, also served as fundraisers for the Midwest Athletes Against Childhood Cancer (MACC) Fund.