Parker girls cruise past Beloit
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JANESVILLE — One more postponement wouldn’t hurt, right?
Another postponement surely wouldn’t have bothered Beloit Memorial High School’s girls basketball team, which has yet to win this season.
Unfortunately for the Purple Knights, Janesville Parker was a bit more excited to play. Loyola of Chicago recruit Catie O’Leary led the way with a game-high 22 points as the Vikings earned a comfortable 50-32 victory over Beloit in a Big Eight Conference game here Saturday afternoon.
With the victory, Parker (8-3, 7-2) stayed within one game of co-leaders Middleton and Verona (both 8-1) in the conference race.
Easy victory aside, the Vikings still had plenty of rust after a two-day layoff from school.
“You get concerned about whether they got to practice yesterday or not or whether they got to practice those two days or not,” Parker coach Tom Klawitter said. “Our program is built on consistency and doing things the right way, and it just hasn’t been there this winter.
“There is just too much going on with the weather, and it’s just really tough.”
The Purple Knights took early advantage of the Parker’s lack of sharpness, opening a quick 4-0 lead. O’Leary then scored six points during a 13-0 run that pushed the Vikings ahead 13-4 with two minutes left in the first quarter.
With Parker seemingly in control, the Purple Knights (0-10, 0-8) started trimming away at the lead before drawing to within 19-16 with 4:20 left in the first half. Danielle Heldt scored five of her team-high 11 points in the second quarter to lead the Beloit rally.
O’Leary countered with four straight free throws to help the Vikings close out the half with a 26-17 lead.
“The game was a little sloppy, and it plays into their (the Knights’) hands when the game is sloppy,” Klawitter said. “Defensively, we broke down a little more than we should have.”
The Purple Knights continued to stay in contention until Kathy Pernot converted a four-point play to put Parker ahead 35-21 with 3:32 left in the third quarter. The Vikings held a 14-point lead after three quarters and were up by as many as 18 in the final period.
“We did well enough to come away with the win, but obviously you could see the sharpness wasn’t there,” Klawitter said. “We just have to make sure we weather the storm and turn things around by February.”
PARKER 50, BELOIT 32
Beloit (32)—Hai. Lawver, 3-0-7; Slavish, 1-0-2; Tester, 1-2-4; Manuel, 3-0-6; Heldt, 5-1-11; Leavy, 1-0-2. Totals: 14-3-32.
Parker (50)—O’Leary 5-12-22; Flood, 2-1-6; Shepler, 2-1-5; McDonald, 2-1-5; ZInn, 0-4-4; Pernot, 2-1-6; Rozeboom, 1-0-2. Totals:14-20-50.
Beloit Memorial 6 11 7 8--32
Janesville Parker 13 13 12 12--50
Three point goals—Beloit 1 (Hai Lawver), Parker 2 (Flood, Pernot). Free throws missed—Beloit 3, Parker 6. Total fouls—Beloit 20, Parker 8.
Sophomores—Parker 48, Beloit 39.
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