Beware of the Popes
Kettle Moraine's girls basketball team scored victories over Muskego and Oconomowoc this week and in the process showed two of the ways it wins games.
Tuesday the Lasers' all-state forward Grace Grocholski went off for 31 points plus 17 rebounds in a 71-43 win over Mukwonago at home. That was 44% of the team's scoring.
Friday was a different story. The Lasers showed not only the ability to be a balanced scoring team in a 67-48 win at Oconomowoc, but one that is able to put the ball in the hands of a number of players who can make sound decisions with it.
“I feel like we've got three or four girls who can play the point,” Kettle Moraine coach Todd Hansen said. “(Senior) Mia Haertle does a good job. Sophomore Braelyn Torres can play it. (Junior) Bailey Alvarez can play it. Even our forwards, I don't have a problem with them handling the basketball.”
That basketball IQ is a major reason why the Lasers, ranked No. 2 in the area by the Journal Sentinel, reached the midway point of the Classic 8 season with an 8-0 record.
Oconomowoc jumped out to a 13-5 lead to start the game, but in taking control of the contest Kettle Moraine showed its balance. During a 10-2 run that would give it the lead for good. Grocholski, Alvarez, junior guard Lily Randgaard and Torres scored buckets.
Grocholski finished with 17 points and seven rebounds. Torres finished with 13 points and five assists, Randgaard had 11 points and junior forward Becca Siedenburg added nine points with six rebounds and five assists.
Lightning strikes in Midwest Classic
Lake Country Lutheran snapped Brookfield Academy's 47-game Midwest Classic winning streak Thursday and it really wasn't close. The Lightning defeated the Knights, 73-58, at home in a matchup of the final undefeated teams in the league.
The difference was a 5-8 senior guard who suffered a season-ending knee injury when the teams last meet last season. It was a low point for Julia Hirt (pronounced hurt). Thursday she
All-state forward Grace Grocholski is getting help from her Kettle Moraine teammates. experienced the other end of the spectrum, posting a career-high 31 points one 10-for-20 shooting with eight rebounds.
The Concordia-Ann Arbor recruit was 7 for 11 from three-point range, easily her best long-range shooting effort of the season.
“She's always been a gamer. She's a great competitor,” said Lutheran coach Kim Hirt, who is Julia's mother.
With Julia's help, the Lighting shot 50% (14 for 28) from three-point range.
We can't help but feel that Pius XI is a team you don't want to see in your corner of the bracket once the tournament begins in a month. The Popes are 5-8 overall, 4-5 in the Woodland West, but look like a potential sleeper after their split with New Berlin West in the last week. Pius also has as split with New Berlin Eisenhower, ranked No. 3 in Division 2 by the Associated Press.
It was a good week to be a Badger
In a week when the University of Wisconsin men's team scored a double overtime win over Indiana, the Badgers of Badger High School in Lake Geneva scored two impressive wins.
The team rebounded from its only loss of the season, 77-72, to Janesville Craig to post a convincing win over Wilmot in a battle for second place in the Southern Lakes. The Badgers then dispatched of Burlington on the road Friday, 66-25. The victories put them on a collision course with Union Grove, the team they shared the Southern Lakes title with last season.