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Parker shows off against Verona

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Photo by Dan Lassiter

Parker's Catie O'Leary battles Verona's Kelsey Zwaga for a rebound on Friday.

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Photo by Dan Lassiter

Parker's Savannah Shepler eyes the hoop with Verona's Aly Bucierka, center, and Rachel Crop defending on Friday.r

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Photo by Dan Lassiter

Parker's Danielle Flood fights Verona's Rachel Crop for a shot on Friday.

The Verona Wildcats encountered the mystique of the Janesville Parker girls basketball program Friday night and found out why the Vikings are nearly unbeatable at home.

Starting with the spectacular pregame light show, a barrage of three-point bombs early on and a suffocating man-to-man defense, Parker High throttled the Wildcats, 57-43, in a key Big Eight Conference game.

Parker (10-4, 9-3) never trailed and led by double digits for most of the second half. Sophomore Danielle Flood scored a game-high 18 points and two-time Big Eight Player of the Year Catie O’Leary added 15 as the Vikings avenged an overtime loss earlier in the season to Verona and moved into a third-place tie with the Wildcats (10-4, 9-3).

“What team was that,” Parker coach Tom Klawitter said in jest after the Vikings had played terribly Tuesday night in a 41-35 loss to Madison West. “There seemed to be a lot more energy out there tonight, and Catie is a big-time player who got us going early.”

O’Leary drained back-to-back three-point baskets from the parking lot to start the game, and after Flood hit a deep three from the right corner with 1:04 left in the opening quarter, Parker led 15-7.

Verona got within a point early in the second quarter, but Parker responded with a 11-2 run to push the lead to 10. Junior Kathryn Pernot hit the Vikings’ fifth three-pointer of the half to cap the run, and the margin was 11 by halftime.

“Our girls know that if you’ve got the confidence in your shot, shoot from where you can,” Klawitter said. “And we bent a little bit with their trap tonight, but we’re starting to do a much better job attacking it.

“I thought Catie did a much better job tonight of distributing the basketball, and that resulted in some easy baskets for us down low.”

Leslie Schaefer, a Kent State University recruit, scored 16 points to lead the Wildcats but was a non-factor most of the game. The 6-foot-4 center had eight points during garbage time in the fourth quarter when Parker was comfortably ahead. Schaefer had scored 30 against the Vikings in the first meeting of the season.

Parker pushed its lead to as many as 14 points in the second half. Verona cut the margin to seven on Schaefer’s turnaround basket with 2:47 left to play, but Parker finished off the Wildcats at the free-throw line. The Vikings made nine of 11 attempts in the fourth.

Parker returns to action tonight at Sun Prairie.

PARKER 57, VERONA 43

Verona (43)—Tackett, 2-1-6; Schaefer, 7-2-16; Bucierka, 4-0-8; Crop, 0-0-0; Pfeffer, 1-0-2; Stone, 2-0-5; Zwaga, 1-4-6. Totals: 17-7-43.

Parker (57)—O’Leary, 4-4-15; Flood, 7-1-18; Shepler, 1-4-6; Zinn, 3-2-8; Miland, 2-2-6; Pernot, 1-1-4. Totals: 18-14-57.

Verona 10 8 8 17—43

Janesville Parker 15 14 11 17—57

Three-point goals—Verona 2 (Stone, Tackett), Parker 7 (O’Leary 3, Flood 3, Pernot). Free throws missed—Verona 3, Parker 6. Total fouls—Verona 17, Parker 8. Fouled out—Crop.

Sophomores—Parker 41, Verona 39 (2OT). Parker is 6-6 overall and 6-6 in the Big Eight. Parker leading scorer: Julia Dement, 12.