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Parker gets past Logan

LA CROSSE — Tom Klawitter knew the feeling well.

Twenty-one years of coaching the Janesville Parker High School girls basketball team have done nothing to soften the blow when it happens to Klawitter. He knows all too well the sinking feeling in his gut when the Vikings simply can’t score. The frustration his players feel pales in comparison to his.

So you can forgive Klawitter for being happy he wasn’t in La Crosse Logan coach Cameron Bruce’s shoes Tuesday. Granted, Parker had played a solid game in its 51-38 victory over the Rangers at the Logan Holiday Tournament.

The Vikings (5-1, ranked sixth in Division 1 by wissports.net) bolted to a 24-9 lead in the first half and kept fourth-ranked Logan (6-2) at bay the rest of the game.

But it didn’t hurt that the Rangers’ offensive woes left Bruce shaking his head as he scanned the final statistics on a laptop. Logan shot 25 percent (14-for-56) from the floor.

The Rangers were 2-for-16 from the floor in the third quarter and were unable to cut into Parker’s 30-18 halftime lead even though the Vikings turned over the ball 10 times in the third quarter, including six times in the first 2 minutes, 9 seconds.

“It’s tough when you miss your shots. We’ve all been in that situation,” Klawitter said. “We caught a very, very good team on a night they couldn’t make their shots.”

Parker’s night from the floor (15-for-51) was by no means special. But senior forward China Franklin knew the Vikings had made the most of their opportunities.

“When (Logan) would miss a shot, everyone would go in for the rebound,” said Franklin, who had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. “We just tried to get back down the court and get a good shot off.”

Franklin’s three-point play with 3:10 left gave the Vikings a 44-33 lead after Logan had drawn to within eight on a basket by Kennedy Johnson. Junior guard Danielle Flood (team-high 12 points) went 4-for-4 from the line over the final 1:23.

As happy as Klawitter was with the Vikings’ starters, he also was pleased with how Parker’s reserves played. Junior forward Frankie Larson’s buzzer-beating jumper gave the Vikings a 19-9 lead at the end of the first quarter. Sadie Johnson and Julia Dement hit back-to-back baskets late in the second quarter to give Parker a 30-16 lead after Logan had drawn to within 10 points.

“It was nice for a lot of our kids to get some quality minutes tonight,” Klawitter said. “We had to because (Logan) is so big.”

Michelle Mueller, a UW softball recruit, led the Rangers with 14 points.

PARKER 51, LOGAN 38

Parker (51)—Franklin 3-4-10, Flood 3-5-12; Hartwig 2-4-8; Shepler 1-2-5; Zinn 2-2-6; Johnson 1-0-2; Dement 2-0-4; Larson 1-2-4. Totals: 15-19-51.

Logan (38)—Mueller 5-3-14; Wiedman 2-2-6; T. Johnson 2-0-4; Blackwell, 1-0-2; K. Johnson 2-0-4; Slaats-Reikowski 1-0-3; Williams 0-2-2; Weber 1-2-3; Cook, 0-0-0. Totals: 14-7-38.

Janesville Parker 19 11 8 13—51

La Crosse Logan 9 9 7 13—38

Three-point goals—Parker 2 (Shepler, Flood), Logan 3 (Mueller, Slaats-Reikowski, Weber). Total fouls—Parker 17, Logan 22.