James’ seven triples is all Grafton had going

The Grafton High School girls’ basketball team got blown out at Oostburg last Thursday, but it wasn’t for lack of effort from Savannah James.

The Black Hawks’ senior shooting guard, headed to Division 2 Quincy University this fall, went 7-for-12 on three-pointers and scored 21 points.

She hit five in the first half, including three during a 43-second stretch that also included a defensive rebound.

The Lady Dutch’s size, strength and quickness prevailed, 70-43, in the final of Oostburg’s two-day tournament.

“Once the game gets going and the adrenaline gets to me and hypes me up, I just know that I can just let it go,” James said.

“It kind of just feels good. I know I can keep going. Once I’m on fire, I can stay on fire if I can get it.”

Five first-half bombs kept the Black Hawks close, down 34-26, at the break.

“When she catches fire, you’ve got to make sure you’re riding the wave. She had a stretch there when she kept us in the game, kept it competitive,” coach Matt D’Amato said.

“She needs help on moving the ball and we need to make sure that other people are getting their opportunities. We were kind of passing into double teams today.”

James wasn’t as hot in the second half, and the rest of the Hawks were cold for the entire game.

James went 7-for-12 on three-pointers. The rest of the team shot 1-for-12.

Point guard Marissa Morgan scored eight points on 4-for-8 shooting, and had six rebounds and four blocks. Sarah Aleknavicius, who will play for Division 2 Hillsdale University next season, was held to five points on 2-for-9 shooting. She had five rebounds and three assists.

Oostburg sophomore Ady Ketterhagen scored 30 points with nearly half coming on free throws. She went 14-for-16 at the line and 8-for-19 from the field. She added 14 rebounds, four assists and four steals.

Her twin sister Riley had 12 points and went 6-for-6 on free throws. Both have multiple Division 1 offers.

The Lady Dutch went 24-for-28 from the line.

Guard Brynn Wisse had 18 points and went 4-for-6 on three-pointers. She added nine rebounds.

“Tonight was frustrating. I think some of the calls that were made early set a tone that put us behind the eight-ball, and it didn’t necessarily go both ways early,” D’Amato said.

“I do think that we need to be more disciplined on our side. There was a lot of reaches, out of position bodies that we should have got called for. And putting good teams on the free throw line is not a good recipe.”

Oostburg, ranked No. 3 in Division 3 in the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association poll, went to 11-1. Grafton slipped to 7-3.

One day earlier, the Hawks knocked off Waukesha West, 46-42, to earn a spot in the final.

While James was off — 0-for-7 on three-pointers — Aleknavicius had 19 points on 6-for-7 shooting from the field and 5-for-6 on free throws. She added seven rebounds.

Morgan had 10 points on 4-for-7 shooting from the field and 2-for-3 on free throws.

The game was tied at 22 at halftime. The Hawks grabbed a few-point lead in the second half and maintained it.

“That was a game where defensively we knew we had to show up,” D’Amato said.

“Fenske’s extremely talented. They have some good role players on the outside who can make you pay.”

The Hawks slowed their offense down to keep the game under control.

“We didn’t shoot great from the outside but we converted when we needed to,” D’Amato said.

Despite the loss to Oostburg, D’Amato likes the holiday tournaments against tough competition.

“There are some things we need to clean up but we know what we need to work on and I do feel the girls have a really good idea these are the opportunities we have to improve and grow,” he said.

“We play these teams because down the road it’s going to help us be more prepared for the big moment.”

Grafton plays at Port Washington on Thursday, Jan. 4, and at Homestead on Tuesday, Jan. 9.

Port’s girls won at Milwaukee Lutheran, 49-43, last Thursday. Sierra Miller had 15 points, Maggie Zirbes had 12 and Lillian Merow had 10 on 5-for-5 shooting, along with 10 rebounds. Hope Gilhooly had five assists.

After hosting Grafton, Port, 5-6, plays at Cedarburg on Tuesday, Jan. 9.