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Parker takes care of Sun Prairie

SUN PRAIRIE — Catie O’Leary made a typical Catie O’Leary play late in the first half of the Janesville Parker High girls basketball team’s Big Eight Conference victory here Saturday night.

With about a minute left in the first half of what would be a breezy 74-35 win for the Vikings, O’Leary made a steal near midcourt, tiptoed the sideline, dribbled the ball behind her back to get by a defender and streaked to the basket.

The rest of the gym sat watching in awe. O’Leary’s teammate, Danielle Flood, did not.

Instead, Flood was ready for O’Leary's bullet pass, catching it in stride and laying it in to complete the pretty bucket.

It was just one play, but it said a lot about Parker. With four new starters from last season, at times the rest of the Vikings have been caught watching O’Leary—the two-time Big Eight Player of the Year—instead of reacting to her.

Flood’s basket, however, was indicative that the bad habit is changing, making the Vikings a much more dangerous team.

“I think that we’re starting to eliminate standing around and watching (O’Leary) play, and she knows it now,” Parker coach Tom Klawitter said. “I think she’s feeling more comfortable with her teammates and really starting to trust them more.”

O’Leary, who canned six three-pointers on her way to a career-high 33 points, agreed.

“It’s a whole new team, and we’re very young,” she said. “I think now we’re starting to push the ball more, and we have a lot more confidence.”

Saturday’s win capped a busy week for the Vikings, who lost to Madison West on Tuesday before bouncing back to beat Verona on Friday and Sun Prairie on Saturday. At 10-3 in the Big Eight (11-4 overall), Parker remains tied with Verona for third place, a half-game behind Madison West for second.

“It was a tough week,” Klawitter said. “It started off with that big loss to West. I guess the biggest thing is how we persevered through that and really learned a lot through it. I'm pretty proud of our kids the way they battled.”

Parker came out white-hot Saturday, scoring on its first six possessions, including four three-pointers, to grab an early 16-6 lead. The game was never close, as Parker held the Cardinals (3-12, 2-11) to just three first-half field goals on its way to a 34-10 halftime lead.

Flood tallied 13 points and four assists for Parker, while Savannah Shepler chipped in 10 points.

PARKER 74, SUN PRAIRIE 35

Parker (74)—O'Leary, 10-7-33; Shepler, 4-0-10; Flood, 5-3-13; Pernot, 1-0-2; McDonald, 0-2-2; Zinn, 2-2-6; Prokopec, 0-1-1; Klosowski, 1-2-4; Johnson, 0-1-1; Rozeboom, 1-0-2. Totals: 24-18-74.

Sun Prairie (35)—Chase, 4-1-12; Yakey, 0-2-2; Kraus, 1-3-5; Granitz, 1-0-2; Renz, 1-0-3; Haight, 2-0-4; Rodenkirch, 1-2-5; Cimperman, 1-0-2. Totals: 11-8-35.

Janesville Parker 20 14 18 22—74

Sun Prairie 6 4 15 10—35

Three-point goals—Parker 8 (O'Leary 6, Shepler 2), Sun Prairie 5 (Chase 3, Renz, Rodenkirch). Free throws missed—Parker 15, Sun Prairie 11. Total fouls—Parker 22, Sun Prairie 20. Fouled out—None.

Sophomores—Sun Prairie 53, Parker 37.