FOCUS ON GIRLS BASKETBALL
NOTABLE Player of the week: Khamya McNeal, Shorewood. The 5-foot-7 freshman point guard is playing beyond her years. “She’s very, very good at maintaining her composure no matter what the situation is in a game,” Greyhounds coach Jeff Eimers said. On Friday, McNeal scored 15 points to lead the Greyhounds to a 40-36 victory over Cudahy on the road that allowed them to remain a half game behind Whitnall in the Woodland East standings. Excellent at attacking the basket and playing through contact, McNeal is averaging 19.4 points and five assists per game for a Shorewood team that returned just one starter from last season's division champion. “She scored big buckets down the stretch. She runs the offense, handles the press and if she drives and there is help defense, she is smart enough to get rid of the ball,” Eimers said.
Team of the week: Kettle
Moraine. The Lasers scored a last-second victory over Oconomowoc on Tuesday and handed Mukwonago its first loss of the season Friday to stay in the hunt for the Classic 8 title. Kettle Moraine (8-2, 6-2 Classic 8) defeated Mukwonago, 51-40, at home. The Lasers got 13 points from senior forward Abby Guidinger and 12 from junior forward Ali Hoeft. The team outscored the Indians by 10 in the second half. The finish was a change for the better for a team that lost four times this season when leading by double digits. One of those contests was a 47-36 setback to Mukwonago on Dec. 6 in which the Indians closed the game with a 22-0 run. Tuesday would have been another frustrating loss were it not for Guidinger’s bucket with 7 seconds left. Kettle Moraine led by 18 at the half. Friday was a different story. “Mukwonago was the first time this year that I could see just from their eyes and body language that we were locked in the entire night,” Lasers coach Jack Hervert said.
In control: Sussex Hamilton (11-3, 7-0) finished the first half of the Greater Metro season with a 7-0 record and a number of close victories to its credit. On Friday, its 50-46 victory over Divine Savior Holy Angels marked its fifth single-digit victory in league play. The Chargers sealed the victory over DSHA with the help of Ellie Sumiec. The senior wing hit a three-pointer, two-pointer and free throw in the final 2 minutes. She had a season-high 17 points as Hamilton scored a season sweep of the three-time defending champion. “It’s been different people doing it each night. It’s good to see they’re all stepping up,” Hamilton coach Bill Scasny said.
Confidence counts: Pewaukee’s 61-33 victory over New Berlin Eisenhower on Saturday snapped a seven-game losing streak for the program against the Lions. It also equaled Eisenhower’s biggest loss since Nov. 22, 2005. The Pirates rallied from an 11-3 deficit to lead by two at the half. In the second half, they had used a combination of tough defense and efficient offensive execution to outscore Eisenhower, 43-17. Senior guard MacKenzie Schill finished with 20 points, four rebounds and three steals. Freshman guard Lauren Schill, MacKenzie’s sister, had 13 points and five steals and junior forward Riley Solomon added a seasonhigh 11 points. “We were down double digits in the second half and to beat a quality team gave our team a lot of confidence that we can play with anybody,” Pirates coach Todd Hansen said.
COMING UP Arrowhead at Milwaukee King, 7 p.m. Tuesday: This will be Arrowhead’s first true test since losing back-to-back games to Mukwonago and Germantown earlier this month. New Berlin West at Pius XI, 7:15 p.m. Tuesday: Pius would extend its winning streak to five games with a victory over the Woodland West leader. Oak Creek at Franklin, 5 p.m. Friday: Four-time defending Southeast Conference champion Oak Creek will take a two-game lead with a victory. It beat Franklin, 56-36, Dec. 13. Sussex Hamilton at Wauwatosa East, 7:30 p.m. Friday: This will be a measuring stick for the resurgent Red Raiders, who tied for second in the Greater Metro, two games behind Hamilton. They’ve won seven straight games since losing to Hamilton, 63-52, Dec. 13.