Local and State Sports
Sports
The Marquette men’s basketball team rallied in the second half last night to win at DePaul, 89-to-76. The 18th-ranked Golden Eagles trailed for the entire first half. Marquette needed an 11-to-2 run to get within three at the break. Darius Johnson-Odom opened the second half by hitting a three which tied the game. Marquette then went on to a 13-3 run in which they pulled ahead for good. Johnson-Odom scored 23 points and Jamil Wilson added 18 for Marquette, which has won eight-of-its-last-nine games and improved to 9-and-3 in the Big East and 20-and-5 overall. Cleveland Melvin scored 22 for DePaul, which has now lost 36 straight games to nationally-ranked opponents dating back to January of 2008. And the Blue Demons are just 3-and-38 in Big East games since they last beat Marquette at home in 2010. DePaul is now 2-and-9 in the conference this season, and 11-and-12 overall. Marquette’s next game is on Saturday at home against Cincinnati.
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The Wisconsin women made a school-record 12 three-pointers last night – but they still lost their 20th straight game to Ohio State, 72-to-58 in Columbus. The 10th-ranked Buckeyes broke the game open with a 16-to-3 run in the second half. Point guard Samantha Prahalis scored a career-high 34 points. She hit 4-of-5 from beyond-the-arc and made all six of her free throws. Prahalis also had five assists, four steals, and two rebounds. Taylor Wurtz scored 20 for Wisconsin, which dropped to 4-and-7 in the Big ten and 8-and-15 overall. First-year coach Bobbie Kelsey said she was impressed with her team’s effort, but she admitted she was having a hard time accepting the losses. Kelsey starred at Stanford, and said if she had one more year of eligibility she’d quote, “get out there and show you what to do.” Kelsey said the Badgers need to get more competitive. Their next game is on Thursday night at Penn State.
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U-W Whitewater is still at Number-Four in the new men’s small college poll from D-Three-Hoops-Dot-Com. The Warhawks are 19-and-2 overall. U-W Stevens Point rose one place to 12th. River Falls joined the rankings at Number-25. Hope College of Michigan is the new men’s Number-One. Middlebury dropped to second after its first loss of the season.
In the D-Three women’s poll, Stevens Point moved up two places to 10th. The Pointers are 19-and-3 overall. River Falls jumped three spots to 21st. Eau Claire fell six places to Number-22. Carthage received enough votes to be just one spot away from returning to the Top-25. Whitewater also received votes. Amherst remains at Number-One.
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Chris Davis of U-W Whitewater made the national men’s Division-Three Team-of-the-Week from D-Three-Hoops-Dot-Com. Davis, a senior center, had 27 points and 12 rebounds in a 10-point Warhawk victory over La Crosse. He hit 3-of-5 from three-point range and made all 10 of his free throws.
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Undefeated Germantown is still the Division-One boys’ leader in this week’s A-P state high school basketball polls. Germantown is 18-and-0, while the rest of the Top-Four have one loss apiece. Madison Memorial is still second, followed by Milwaukee King and De Pere. Onalaska still leads Division-Two, with Rice Lake second and Antigo third. Little Chute remains atop Division-Three, with Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau second and Omro third. Cuba City still leads Division-Four, followed by Whitefish Bay Dominican and Auburndale. And in Division-Five, Racine Lutheran is still at Number-One. Prentice and Clayton are second-and-third.
In the A-P girls’ poll, Glendale Nicolet is still the Division-One leader at 16-and-0. Milwaukee Vincent remains second, followed by Racine Case and Appleton East. In Division-Two, New London is still the leader. New Berlin Eisenhower and Monona Grove are in the second-and-third spots. Brillion still leads Division-Three, followed by Lomira and Whitefish Bay Dominican. Eau Claire Regis still tops Division-Four, with Neillsville second and Oshkosh Lourdes third. And Wausau Newman remains atop Division-Five, with Seneca and Wisconsin Rapids Assumption in the two-and-three spots.
-2/7-
Milwaukee Bucks’ point guard Brandon Jennings says he wishes that his teammate Stephen Jackson could have played in Saturday night’s home loss to Chicago. The veteran Jackson has only played for nine minutes in his last five games. The N-B-A suspended him for a game 10 days ago after he verbally abused an official. And the coaches kept Jackson on the bench for three of the Bucks’ last four contests. Assistant coach Jim Boylan says his staff will consider putting Jackson back in the regular rotation – and for now, Boylan says the veteran guard has been upbeat and positive. Boylan ran yesterday’s practice because head coach Scott Skiles was out due to illness. Milwaukee traded for Jackson last summer in the hopes of providing a spark to a lackluster offense from the previous season. But he’s had some untimely technicals – and he was punished earlier in the season for missing a team shoot-around in New York. Jackson remains the Bucks’ second-leading scorer with just over 12 points a game – and he says he’s been showing his commitment every day. Jackson refused to say whether he asked for another trade. Milwaukee is his seventh team in a 12-year N-B-A career. The Bucks return to action tonight at home against Phoenix.
-2/7-
It was less than a month ago when University of Pittsburgh coach Paul Chryst hired Eddie Faulkner to be the Panthers’ new running backs coach. But yesterday, Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema pulled Faulkner away, and hired him to be the Badgers’ new tight ends coach. Faulkner was a running back for Wisconsin in the late 1990’s – and at Northern Illinois last year, he worked with the Badgers’ new offensive coordinator, Matt Canada. Faulkner said he has the “utmost respect” for Chryst and the Pitt program – but he couldn’t pass up the new opportunity at Wisconsin, and he believes Chryst respects that. Faulkner said Canada valued him enough to think he could be a real asset to the Badger offense – and Faulkner says it’s quote, “awesome” to return to his alma mater. Bielema has now replaced all six assistants he lost after the Rose Bowl.
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The Green Bay Packers, the N-F-L, and a number of medical groups plan to make a public pitch in the next few weeks for a bill in the Wisconsin Legislature that sets guidelines for dealing with concussions. Those suspected of getting concussions or head injuries in any youth activity would be forced to leave their competitions immediately. And they could not compete again until a trained health-care provider gives written clearance. At least 31 other states have some type of laws dealing with youth concussions. The Wisconsin Assembly passed the measure late last year, but it’s been stalled in the Senate. Media reports say some majority lawmakers are concerned about the bill’s statewide reach. If it doesn’t pass by the end of March, the bill will die – and the issue cannot come up again until next year.
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