Wilmot girls turn tables on Central

The Panthers flipped the script from the teams’ first matchup on Dec. 6, playing solid defense on Central standout Reese Rynberg and beating the Falcons 57-51 at Paddock Lake.

Central won the first meeting 61-53 and Rynberg had 24 points in that game, but she held to just nine points Thursday, about half her average of 17.9.

Of course, the Panthers (5-14, 2-7) have NCAA Division I recruit McKenna Johnson on their side and she did what she usually does by scoring 33 points. She scored 31 in the first meeting.

She had 22 of those points in the first half as Wilmot took a 32-24 halftime lead.

Johnson had help Thursday as Ali Beagle scored all nine of her points in the second half and Jade Klahs had all eight of her points in the first half.

With Rynberg was limited, Alyssa Klementzos scored 13 points and Lydia Pelli had 10 for Central (5-13, 3-6). Klementzos had her two best performances of the season against the Panthers, scoring 14 points, her season high, in the first meeting.

“It was another great battle, but unfortunately our girls just came up short,” Falcons coach Sarah Vozel said. “We struggled to get Reese the ball, but had Alyssa Klementzos and Lydia Pelli step up.

“McKenna played a heck of a game, putting up 33 points, and had help when we got the ball out of her hands.”

BRADFORD 80, RACINE CASE 28: Nevaeh Thomas and Syderah Farmer lit up the scoreboard for the Red Devils during Thursday’s Southeast Conference game at Racine.

Bradford (14-5, 7-2 SEC) led 54-17 after the first half. The Eagles (3-14, 2-7 SEC) were limited to 11 field goals and saw leading scorer Taccarrii Hicks held to five points, all in the first half.

Bradford’s duo of Thomas and Farmer combined for 46 points. Farmer scored 14 of her 20 points in the first half and Thomas finished with a game-high 26 points and went 10 of 15 from the free-throw line.

The Red Devils have won three straight games and six of their last seven.

UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MILWAUKEE 66, ST. JOSEPH 55: The Lancers recovered from a tough first half and made a late push to bring the game closer, but lost to the Wildcats Thursday in a nonconference game at Milwaukee.

St. Joseph (8-9) had a hard time connecting on shots in the first half and fell quickly to a 22-point deficit. The Lancers gained momentum as the game continued on, but University School (14-4) led 42-23 at halftime.

“I give credit to USM as they came out and shot the ball with efficiency, especially behind the arc,” St. Joseph coach Jason Coker said. “At halftime, we discussed how our ball movement needed to increase as well as getting the game back to our pace with full court pressure and pushing the ball on the break.”

The Lancers had a much better showing in the second half and outscored the Wildcats 32-24, but the Wildcats responded when they needed to, Coker said.

Frankie McLain led the Lancers with 21 points and had eight rebounds. Freshman guard Kamryn Lecce had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds and junior guard Ava Rizzitano led the team defensively with six steals along with 12 points and six rebounds.

CHRISTIAN LIFE 69, MILWAUKEE MESSMER 44: The Eagles easily beat the Bishops Thursday in a Midwest Classic Conference game at Christian Life.

No further in formation was available for Christian Life (5-10, 3-7 MCC) or Messmer (1-15, 0-11).

ST. JOSEPH 57, BURLINGTON CATHOLIC CENTRAL 42: The Lancers were buoyed by a 19-0 scoring run to open Thursday’s Metro Classic Conference game at Kenosha.

The Lancers (10-6, 4-5 MCC) opening to the game featured a lot of pressure. The Hilltoppers (3-14, 0-10 MCC) finished the night with 22 turnovers with the Lancers hauling 12 steals.

The Lancers led 33-12 at halftime and saw the Hilltoppers cut the lead down to nine-points in the second half. Their comeback efforts ran out of steam and as the Lancers polished off a win to end a three-game losing streak.

Eric Kenesie and Tommy Santarelli led the Lancers with 12 points each. Kenesie finished with a team-high four assists and added four steals and two rebounds.

Evan Krien scored a game-high 17 points to lead the Hilltoppers.

RACINE CASE 66, BRADFORD 50: The Red Devils struggled offensively in the first half and lost to the Eagles Thursday in a Southeast Conference game at Bradford.

Bradford (2-16, 1-8) trailed 34-22 at halftime thanks to a tough defense by Case (9-7, 6-3 SEC), which swept the season series against the Red Devils.

The Eagles’ defense was especially tough on DeAndre Jennings, who had just two baskets and four points, about eight points under his average. He scored 21 against Case in the teams’ first meeting on Dec. 9, which the Eagles won 70-59.

Robby Belotti led the Red Devils with 12 points, Andy Sauer had 11 and Jonathan Cordova-Delgado had 10.

Josiah McNeal led Case with 18 points and Termarion Brumby had 15 points.

SHORELAND LUTHERAN 73, MILWAUKEE MESSMER 47: Defense helped pave the way for the Pacers in a nonconference game on Thursday at Kenosha.

The Pacers (7-8) led 41-15 after the first half and held the Bishops (10-5) below 50 points for the first time this season. The Bishops previous lowest scoring total on the season came in a 83-55 road loss to Heritage Christian.

“We came ready to play this evening and played exceptional defense in the first half,” Shoreland Lutheran coach Paul Strutz said.

Kamare Evans and Brayden Van de Water led the charge offensively for the Pacers. Evans scored a game-high 21 points while Van de Water added 19. Owen Hahm joined the duo in double digit scoring with 10 points.

The Bishops were led in scoring by Markell Milton and Omar Fofana who scored 11 and 10 points respectively.

The Pacers have won two of their last three games following a season long four-game losing streak.

DELAVAN-DARIEN 39, CENTRAL 36: A young Falcons lineup lost a close Southern Lakes Conference dual meet Thursday at Delavan.

“It was a tough back and forth dual,” Central coach Jason Ladd said. “There were a lot of hard fought matches. We had a few younger guys that stepped in and really helped us out. We knew it would be a close dual. Unfortunately, we made a few little mistakes that cost us in close matches.”

Pins were plentiful in the dual as 12 of the 14 matches were contested and nine of the 12 resulted in a pin.

The Falcons had four pins: Chet Pelli, competing at 132 pounds, over Jacob Huff (2:54), Joseph Canvin (138) over Joe Ketterhagen (2:59), Elijah Conejo (170) over Fernando Echeveria (4:54) and Mason McNeill (285) over Kaden Lofy (5:52).

“Chet Pelli wrestled a great match against a tough opponent,” Ladd said. “He has been improving steadily throughout the season.”