Conference’s best batter Port and Grafton girls


GRAFTON’S LILIANA VERPLANCKE (above left) looked for room inside against Waupun on Dec. 16. Port Washington’s Hope Gilhooly made her way through traffic in the season opener against Random Lake. Photos by Mitch Maersch
By 
MITCH MAERSCH
Ozaukee Press Staff

Facing a zone defense for the third game in a row resulted in an easy win for the Grafton High School girls’ basketball team. Playing against the North Shore Conference’s Player of the Year yielded an opposite outcome.

The Black Hawks beat West Bend West at home, 58-41, on Dec. 17.

Sophomore guard Cali Tagliapietra scored 20 points on 8-for-14 shooting and made seven steals.

“Cali played well,” coach Matt D’Amato said.

Senior guard Marissa Morgan had 11 points on 5-for-8 shooting, six rebounds and five assists, and her sister, sophomore guard Melanie, had 11 points.

The Spartans’ 2-3 zone slowed the Black Hawks’ running game, but they still bolted to a 39-25 halftime lead.

“There were opportunities to put the ball in the basket. We stayed in attack on transition as much as we could,” D’Amato said.

Paige Guse had 17 points, eight rebounds and six assists for the Spartans. Mackenzie Rolf had 10 points and 11 rebounds.

The Hawks forced 30 turnovers while committing 17.

“Defensively, we had been playing fairly well until Friday,” D’Amato said.

That’s when Grafton played at Hartford.

NSC Player of the Year Makena Christian, a 6-feet-tall guard with Division I offers, had 33 points in an 81-44 blowout.

“There were at least four or five deep threes where I specifically talked to the girl on our team guarding her — ‘You did a fantastic job. You did nothing wrong. That’s just a next-level play,’” D’Amato said.

The Orioles also took advantage of their size.

“Their height caused a problem. They had second, third, fourth chances, and we turned the ball over way too much,” D’Amato said.

“We actually handled the full-court pressure fairly well. It was just mental mistakes, decision making we’d probably like to have back,” he said.

Melanie Morgan had 11 points, and Tagliapietra had eight points, nine rebounds, five assists and four steals. Emily Sewell had eight points.

Hartford moved to 6-0 and remained in first place in the conference.

The Hawks, 4-2 in the NSC and 5-4 overall, play at Wauwatosa East on Saturday, Dec. 28, and at Beloit Memorial on Monday, Dec. 30.

D’Amato said Wauwatosa East (10-0) might be more difficult than Hartford, and he expects Beloit Memorial (2-5) to be a good game.

Port girls struggle against top of NSC

Port Washington on Dec. 17 lost to Hartford, 77-50, and last Friday lost at Homestead, 83-39.

Against Hartford, Christian had 17 points and guard Alexis Shelsta had 25 points.

For Port, small forward Savanna Miller had 11 points. Junior forward Norah Merow had 10 points, and senior forward Lillian Merow had eight points and seven rebounds. Guard Hope Gilhooly had five points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Port was behind, 37-28, at halftime before Hartford unleashed a 40-22 second-half edge.

Against Homestead, Lillian Merow had 10 points and five rebounds. Norah Merow had five points and six rebounds. Delaney Rauch and Maggie Zirbes each had six points.

Homestead is 5-1 and tied for second with Whitefish Bay in the NSC.

Port, 3-3 in the NSC and 6-3 overall, hosts Milwaukee Lutheran on Friday, Dec. 27, and hosts Menomonee Falls on Saturday, Dec. 28.

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Wisconsin’s largest paid circulation community weekly newspaper. Serving Port Washington, Saukville, Grafton, Fredonia, Belgium, as well as Ozaukee County government. Locally owned and printed in Port Washington, Wisconsin.

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