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Parker girls knock off Craig--again

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Parker at Craig Girls Basketball

photos from the Parker at Craig girls basketball game.

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JANESVILLE — The Janesville Craig gymnasium is not a favorite of Janesville Parker girls basketball coach Tom Klawitter.

Klawitter’s program has dominated its crosstown rival for so long that he always feels like it’s a no-win situation every time his teams play in the Cougar gym.

But with the WIAA Division 1 sectional at Craig High next month, Klawitter would love to make the trip across town two more times.

Parker made its first appearance of the season at Craig on Friday night and coasted to a 53-37 victory that kept the Vikings (13-4, 11-2) tied with Middleton and Sun Prairie for the Big Eight Conference lead.

In beating Craig for the 51st time in the last 53 meetings, Parker set the tone early and pulled away late, highlighted by Danielle Flood’s 17-point game.

Klawitter was pleased with the way his team finished after struggling with only one field goal in the third quarter as the Cougars (7-10, 6-7) cut a double-digit deficit to five.

“It’s not such a bad place to play when you come away with a win,” Klawitter said in jest. “But no, it would be awfully nice to get a couple more chances to play here this season.

“I don’t think we’ve ever played poorly here, and tonight, I was pretty happy with the way we played.”

Parker led 32-22 at half but went cold in the third quarters. The Cougars got within 37-32 on Kelsey Kennedy’s three-point basket with 47 seconds left in the quarter and had a chance to make it a one-possession game after stopping Parker on the defensive end. But Craig missed a shot down low, and Parker’s China Franklin converted on the other end with nine seconds left to push the lead to 39-32.

The Vikings then opened the fourth quarter with an 8-0 run, capped off by a pair of free throws from Kathy Pernot with 2:40 to play.

Craig coach Mark Marsden sat four starters for most of the first quarter for violating a team rule but was not making excuses afterward.

“We had to weather some problems, but Parker is so good and can come at you with so many weapons that it’s tough to beat them no matter who you have on the court,” Marsden said. “I was really pleased, though, with the way we battled to get back into the game. That told me a lot about this team.

“We had some kids make some bad decisions at a bad time, and it probably cost us the Stoughton game, but I think we’ve learned from it.”

Flood led all scorers, and she was one of four Vikings in double figures. China Franklin, a 6-foot-3 senior, finished with a career-high 11 points for the Vikings, while Savannah Shepler and Kaynesha Zinn added 10 each.

Anne Morgan was the only Cougar in double figures, finishing with 11 points.

Despite his program’s dominance in the series, Klawitter is not ready to call Craig High a “home away from home.” But the coach who has taken more girls teams (12) to the state tournament than any other school, hopes the Cougar gym is the ticket to his school’s first state appearance since 2006.

“We’ve just got to keep working hard and get better,” Klawitter said. “We know we can play well here, but there’s a lot of basketball between now and then. We’re not thinking about the tournament just yet.”

PARKER 53, CRAIG 37

Parker (53)—Franklin, 5-1-11; Pernot, 1-2-5; Flood, 5-6-17; Shepler, 3-1-10; Zinn, 3-4-10. Totals: 17-14-53.

Craig (37)—W. Oliver, 2-3-8; L. Oliver, 1-0-3; Kennedy, 1-4-7; Storbakken, 1-0-3; Hinman, 1-2-4; Morgan, 4-3-11; Legreid, 0-1-1. 10-13-37.

Janesville Parker 15 17 7 14—53

Janesville Craig 6 16 10 5—37

Three-point goals—Parker 5 (Shepler 3, Flood, Pernot), Craig 4 (W. Oliver, L. Oliver, Kennedy, Storbakken). Free throws missed—Parker 4, Craig 2. Total fouls—Parker 16, Craig 15.

Sophomores—Craig 65, Parker 41. Leading scorers: Michela Holzhuter (JC), 15; Kylee Kennedy (JC), 12; Kristi Crandall (JC), 10; Kacey Pennycook (JP), 8. Records: Craig is 13-0 in Big Eight, 17-0 overall; Parker is 11-2, 14-13.