Posted: Dec. 8, 2009 |(0) Comments

Brown Deer girls basketball

Staying positive and not getting flustered, the Falcons got their Woodland Conference season off to a flying start, holding off two-time defending Woodland champ Whitnall, 54-51, on Friday after opening the season with a sound 54-33 rout of Greenfield on Dec. 1.

"We're definitely encouraged," first-year coach Mark Busalacchi said. "We have only 10 players on the team, but our conditioning has been good and the girls are expecting a lot out of themselves. We're not coming close to hitting a wall yet."

The Falcons (2-0) take on St. Francis today, and then will have a huge task ahead of them when they host powerful Pewaukee at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

Against Whitnall, the Falcons trailed 32-25 at the break before mounting their rally.

"We just emphasized staying positive, not turning the ball over and getting the ball to our shooters in good position," Busalacchi said. "They were doubling us out on top (in the halfcourt) and making their shots. They really played well in the first half."

But Brown Deer chipped away. Mariah Weddle's 3-pointer tied the score and then a Chelsea Stingley three-point play put the Falcons ahead for good. The lead actually got up to 49-44, but Whitnall came back and a hit a clutch three to make it a two-point game with less than 10 seconds to go.

Stingley was fouled with five seconds to go and made one of two free throws, leaving Whitnall to try a half-court heave at the buzzer.

Stingley had 14 points to lead the Falcons, while Ariel Feiertag had 12 points and nine rebounds. Weddle had 10 points and Monique Morris eight points and nine rebounds.

"That's a great win against a very good team," Busalacchi said. "I know they lost several good seniors, but they still have a lot of talent."

In the opener, Brown Deer was ahead of Greenfield 26-19 at the half and then put the game away with a 15-4 third quarter. Stingley had 13 points while Feiertag (six rebounds) and Morris had 12 points apiece.

Nicolet girls basketball

Last year, a challenging early schedule nearly buried the Knights under the weight of high expectations and subsequent discouraging results.

This year, Nicolet (2-1) is a little steadier. Witness the Knights' 39-38 overtime win over state qualifier Brookfield Central on Friday, where the Knights, who had blown an early 17-5 advantage, found themselves down 38-35 with less than two minutes to go in the extra session.

"The funny thing was that they outplayed us for most of the game," Knights coach Corey Wolf said. "We knew what Central was doing but we couldn't find a rhythm and that rattled us, but down the stretch, we got two good looks and cashed them in."

Central (0-2) helped by missing the front end of three free-throw opportunities down the stretch. That allowed Ashley Green (game-high 17 points) to get a hoop and cut the lead to 38-37. The Lancers then missed another front-end attempt, and the Knights came down with 25 seconds to go, when Britney Fair found center Alex Cohen for the winning basket with four seconds left.

"Central was enforcing its will on us, and all of a sudden we got a little confidence," Wolf said. "It's a different team this year. We kept fighting. We lost confidence at different points but we never got really down."

Cohen finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Nicolet hit nine of 10 free throws in the game, while Central was five-of-12.

The Knights will open their defense of the North Shore co-championship when they visit Whitefish Bay (1-1) at 7:30 p.m. Friday. The Blue Dukes gave the Knights problems at their place last season, so Wolf is wary of them. On Tuesday, Nicolet will host Port Washington in another 7:30 p.m. tilt.

Whitefish Bay boys basketball

The coach Kevin Lazovik era got under way on a positive note at home Friday as Bay got out on the break early and often in an easy 67-36 win over Hope School.

"Our transition offense was very good," Lazovik said. "We executed well and finished well. We got a rebound and got down the floor."

The Blue Dukes (2-1 overall) now open their North Shore campaign on a challenging note, as they visit a resurgent Nicolet squad (2-0) at 7:30 p.m. Friday and then head to two-time WIAA state tournament qualifier Germantown (2-0) at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

"We're going to find out what we're made of soon enough," Lazovik said.

Against Hope School, the Blue Dukes got out to a 21-7 first-quarter lead and never looked back as nine people scored, led by Jamie Schneck and Jevontae Merriwether with 14 apiece. Cal Ehrke had 10 and Alex Jamerson scored nine.

Even though returning all-conference guard John Johnston didn't score, Lazovik felt the senior played an excellent floor game.

"I think we're still working out some of the kinks moving from the flex offense to more of a motion set-up where you have a little more freedom," Lazovik said. "It's a growing process."

He said it was fun sitting in the first chair at the field house for the first time after years as an assistant.

"There were a few butterflies," he said. "You go from the assistant to being the head man, the one everyone is looking to."

Homestead boys swim

State meet veterans Ben Sjulson, Cody Burkard and Erik Larsen will lead a youthful Highlanders team this winter. They opened their season Dec. 1 with a 120-60 North Shore Conference win over Grafton.

"We're getting used to a lot of new faces," veteran coach Mark Gwidt said. "We're very young with a lot of room for improvement."

The Highlanders, who will be at the North Shore Conference Relays at Whitefish Bay at 6 p.m. Friday, have about 40 swimmers out this winter.

Sjulson, a senior, was 17th in the 100-yard freestyle at state last season. Gwidt said he'll do a little bit of everything for the team this year.

Burkard, a junior, was seventh in the 200 individual medley and 10th in the 500 free. He also will do breaststroke this season.

Larsen, another junior, was sixth in diving last season and will lead a strong corps off the board.

Others who Gwidt will count on include senior freestyler Erik Erlandson and senior flyer Michael Richter.

"We have a lot of boys in the middle of the pack with opportunities to move up," Gwidt said. "You could say this is a season of opportunity for us. We'll see who rises to the top.

"I like the atmosphere. Everyone is eager to improve."

Homestead girls basketball

A 13-0 run in the middle of the first quarter fueled by good shooting and stout defense was all the Homestead girls basketball team needed to overpower visiting Menomonee Falls, 51-37, on Friday.

"It had been a challenging week for us after the last game (a bad loss to Pewaukee in the season opener)," Highlander coach Matt Heuser said. "We had to get mentally straight, and I thought we had a lot of girls step up mentally and emotionally as well as on the court. We performed well right out of the gate and that really helped."

The win evened the Highlanders' record at 1-1, while the young Indians were playing in their season opener. Homestead will open its North Shore Conference season at home at 7:30 p.m. Friday against defending state Division 2 champion Grafton and then visit Milwaukee Lutheran on Tuesday.

Two free throws by the Indians' Rachel Defnet closed the gap to 5-4 at the five-minute mark of the first quarter, but the Highlanders then used a pressure trapping defense to force Falls into several turnovers. The Indians had eight giveaways in the first.

The result was the 13-0 run by Homestead that included five points (and a 3-pointer) by sophomore Hannah Young and two baskets by senior Megan Geschke, who scored all 10 of her points in the first half.

It was 20-6 at the end of the first, as Homestead hit its first seven shots from the field and finished eight-of-11 for the quarter.

"We emphasized pressure all week in practice," Heuser said. "We really wanted to keep pressure on the ball, and I think we succeeded in giving them problems."

The lead reached 31-9 on Young's 3-pointer at the 3:59 mark of the second quarter. Falls used a 1-3-1 trap defense to force the Highlanders into several turnovers over the next quarter but couldn't muster enough offense to get the lead under 13 points.

Alex Poole had 15 points to lead Falls, and Defnet contributed eight. The Highlanders, meanwhile, had a balanced attack led by Emily Martin with 11, Geschke with 10, Siena Mitman with nine and Young with eight.

Heuser thought the win was an encouraging step forward for his team.

"We have to remind ourselves of the thought that success doesn't graduate," he said. "We remember that, we can keep moving forward."

Homestead boys basketball

After a frustrating, season-opening 67-56 loss to defending state Division 2 champion Wisconsin Lutheran on Dec. 2, the Highlanders bounced back with an effective defensive effort in a 58-32 triumph over Muskego in the Terry Porter Classic at South Division on Saturday.

"We feel better about things," Homestead coach Ray Curry said. "We had a 10-point lead at the half and then they promptly cut it half. We then went on something like a 24-2 run after that. I think we hit 17 points in a row at one point."

The win evened the Highlanders' record at 1-1. They will open their North Shore season at Grafton (0-1) on Friday and then host Milwaukee Lutheran (2-1) on Tuesday. Both games are at 7:30 p.m.

John Laihinen had 15 points for Homestead in the win over Muskego, while Coy Smith had 14 and Bryan Bronaugh and Dominic Wilder scored seven apiece.

"It was a good starting week for us," Curry said. "The Lutheran game taught us that we need to handle pressure a little better."

Lutheran went on a 10-1 run at the end of the first quarter to take a 17-9 lead. The Vikings were never threatened after that, as the Highlanders tied it once in the second quarter only to see Lutheran go on an 11-0 run.

Laihinen had 15 points for Homestead while Lamonte Moore had 10.

"It was all mental with us this game," Curry said. "Physically we were fine, but we just needed to be mentally tougher."

Brown Deer boys basketball

With a team as young as the Falcons are, consistency is going to be an issue.

That much was evident after their roller-coaster ride last weekend, where they won an emotional 48-44 Woodland tilt over Whitnall on Friday only to stumble against nonconference foe Brillion, 51-41, on Saturday. Brown Deer opened the week with a 60-53 victory over Greenfield on Dec. 1.

"Defensively we're playing OK," Falcons co-coach Andy Bauschelt said. "Usually when you hold a team around 50 points, you're going to be OK, but we're just struggling offensively right now. We're not finding guys to put the ball in the hole right now. Hopefully, someone will emerge inside soon."

The Falcons (2-2 overall) are in the midst of a busy slate of games. They will visit Pewaukee on Friday and then host Cudahy on Tuesday. Both games are at 7:30 p.m.

Against Brillion, the lead got up to 10 in the second half, but the Falcons whittled it to three before faltering. Keone Moore had 13 points and Kierre Ogbanna nine.

"We learned a lot from this game," Bauschelt said.

Whitnall had the Falcons' lead down to two with the ball and a chance to tie Friday, but guard Chris Smith poked the ball away and got it to Joziah Mallett, who was fouled with 1.3 seconds left. Mallett hit both free throws to clinch the game.

"Chris (Smith) has really taken on a big defensive leadership role for us," Bauschelt said.

Mallett finished with 10 points as Brandon McAfee had nine and Ogbanna and Jamon Jackson-Wilson contributed eight apiece.

The Falcons kept Greenfield at arm's length throughout the second half, outscoring the Hustling Hawks, 14-11, in the fourth quarter to secure the win. Ogbanna had 19 points to lead Brown Deer as Moore and Mallet contributed nine apiece.

Whitefish Bay girls basketball

A flat third quarter and 24 total turnovers were enough to do in the Blue Dukes against resurgent village rival Dominican in a 46-34 decision on Friday.

The loss came three days after Bay opened its season with a 47-18 rout of West Allis Hale on Dec. 1.

"They (the Green Knights) got one transfer in and also have a really good freshman," Bay coach Greg Capper said of Dominican. "That's made them a very different team. We got it to 20-14 at the half, but then on our first eight possessions of the third quarter, we got only one basket. Meanwhile, they scored on their first two possessions and from then on, they were able to hold us at arm's length."

The Blue Dukes (1-1) take on Waukesha North today and now open their North Shore season with a bang on Friday, when they host defending co-champs Nicolet (2-1) at 7:30 p.m.

"We'll need to do a much better job of taking care of the ball," said Capper.

In the loss to Dominican, the Blue Dukes got eight points off the bench from Kylie Davidson while Leslie Fuda added seven. The Green Knights were paced by Dilonna Johnson with 16.

"It was just a very uncharacteristic game for us," Capper said.

Against Hale, Bay blew open the game with a 16-0 second quarter. It was 25-6 at the half, and the Blue Dukes coasted from there.

A total of 11 players scored, led by Alexa Herasimchuk and Maggie Rice with 12 points each.

"I think both of these games showed us what we need to do to get better," Capper said.

Shorewood girls basketball

The going got rough for the Greyhounds last week in their opening slate of games, but saved their best effort for last in falling to Milwaukee School of Languages, 52-35, on Saturday.

Margaret O'Brien scored 12 points to lead the Greyhounds, while Johanna Odom had 10 and Jenny Vrobel nine. The day before, the Greyhounds were thumped by Woodland foe South Milwaukee 64-17, as Odom had five points. In that game, 15 different players scored for the Rockets.

Shorewood opened its season with a 38-13 loss to Racine Prairie on Dec. 1. Audrey Peterson had 10 points for the Greyhounds, including all three of their field goals.

The Greyhounds will visit Whitnall on Friday and host St. Francis on Tuesday in a pair of Woodland Conference games.