Germantown’s Arnold sets school single-game mark
This may have been Kamorea Arnold's finest performance yet.
The sophomore guard from Germantown filled the stat sheet Friday night, hitting 15 of 25 shots on the way to a single-game school-record 41 points. Her 10 rebounds were two short of her career high but matched her second-best performance. The nine assists? Those were one short of her career best.
The Warhawks, ranked No. 1 in the area by the Journal Sentinel, needed all of those contributions to escape with a 77-74 victory over No. 6 Divine Savior Holy Angels in Germantown.
The Dashers trailed by 10 points with about five minutes left but whittled that lead to one point with 7.7 seconds to go. Arnold then hit two free throws with 6.7 seconds left to give Germantown (5-0, 3-0 Greater Metro Conference) its final margin of victory.
The win came with Division I recruit Jaelyn Acker, a senior guard headed to California Baptist, and senior guard Katie Pampuch, another starter, having fouled out.
“It wasn't exactly our ideal lineup to end the game, but I guess if KK is one of those five, you have a pretty good chance of coming out on top,” Germantown coach Matt Stuve said.
The victory was the second close call this week for the Warhawks.
Tuesday against Brookfield Central, which likes to slow the pace, Germantown rallied from a 14-point deficit to win, 62-59. Acker hit the winning three in that matchup.
In DSHA, Germantown had an opponent that loves to push the tempo as much as it does. This time the Warhawks nearly lost a double-digit lead down the stretch.
“The key was talking to my teammates and telling them to calm down a little bit,” Arnold said. “We were rushing, trying to go back and forth with them. … DSHA was a great team.”
The Warhawks won despite shooting 16 for 31 from the free-throw line, going 3 for 13 from three-point range and getting a one-point game from Acker, who equaled her career high in rebounds (12) and made five steals.
Here are four other takeaways from the week in girls basketball:
The kids can play
This was our first look at DSHA freshmen Kennedy Holmes, a 5-8 guard/forward, and Allison Timm, a 510 guard/forward. Neither showed any fear against one of the state's top teams and one of the nation's top players.
Holmes led DSHA with 18 points and was tough to keep out of the lane. Timm had 13 points, eight in the final two minutes. During that stretch she was 4 for 4 from the free-throw line plus scored the bucket that cut Germantown's lead to one point with 7.7 seconds left.
The two are ranked second (Timm with 11.8 points) and third (Holmes, 10.5) in scoring for a team that should continue to be one of the state's best.
Popes' payback
Those who know how topsy-turvy the Woodland West is isn't surprised by Pius XI's 73-67 win over division favorite Eisenhower on Friday night. Eisenhower had defeated Pius XI earlier in the week, 55-43. Those teams and New Berlin West have battled for supremacy in the division for years.
The added challenge this year comes from the Woodland's strategy of having teams play their home and home with opponents during one week.
For Eisenhower, games with Pewaukee are on the horizon Tuesday and Friday. The following week it will be Pius' and Pewaukee's turn to share the floor.
The unpredictable North Shore
It only took two weeks and every North Shore school has a conference loss except Hartford.
Cedarburg, which was 6-12 in the league last season, showed the potential Friday to flip that record and contend for a top finish in the conference. With only one senior on the roster, the Bulldogs defeated a veteran Homestead team. Junior guard Clare Diener led the way with 17 points and 12 rebounds, her third double-double of the season.
Martin Luther continues to impress
The Spartans didn't match their splash of Week 1, when they defeated Greenfield and Waukesha West, teams expected to contend in the Woodland East and Classic 8, respectively. But they didn't slip, either.
Martin Luther beat Dominican, 7237, and Shoreland Lutheran, 77-34, in a manner you would expect of a high-caliber team. Eleven of the 12 players on the roster dented the stat sheet in either scoring, rebounding or assists.