James eclipses 1,000 career points in hoops

A second Grafton High School girls’ basketball player reached a career milestone during a week when the Black Hawks had one day of practice.

They were playing games on the other days.

Senior shooting guard Savannah James eclipsed 1,000 points in an 87-40 home win over West Bend West last Friday.

Barely a minute into the game, James took a pass on the left wing from Josie Gasser in the lane and swished a three-pointer a few feet behind the arc. Her teammates raced to congratulate her as coach Matt D’Amato called a 30-second timeout. Public address announcer James Johnson announced the milestone, and everyone in the gym, including West Bend West’s players, applauded the achievement.

“Amazing. It felt like something that I didn’t think I’d accomplish, to be honest with you, and then that I did it just made me happy,” James said.

James saw the mark might be possible at the beginning of the season. She was glad she got it out of the way at the beginning of the game.

“I’m really proud of her. The amount of hours that people don’t see she puts in after practice, on weekends over the summer and not just AAU. Its shoot-arounds, open gyms. I’m very happy for her, very proud to see the hard work pay off and it will pay off at the next level too,” D’Amato said.

James will play Division 2 basketball for Quincy University next season.

Fellow senior Sarah Aleknavicius reached 1,000 points earlier in the season with a free throw in an 82-80 win over the Prairie School.

“It was really rewarding, just being able to do it at home too and to having everyone behind you. It just made everything worth it,” Aleknavicius said.

D’Amato pointed out the different ways the two reached four digits in points.

“Sarah’s a very efficient scorer and Savannah is lightning in a bottle. I have never seen a player able to score so many points so quickly even when teams are trying to solve how she’s hot, but when she finds that rhythm there’s nothing you can do,” he said.

The crazy week that had the Hawks playing five games in six days included one snow day makeup game in Cedarburg and a Saturday game D’Amato scheduled after West Bend East canceled its season due to low participation. The Hawks went 4-1 and almost had highly ranked Waupun beat.

The players themselves kept each other going through the stretch.

“All of us together are just a big ball of energy. I think I can be really tired and when I’m around them just brings that energy, so I think that’s what really kept us going,” James said.

“I feel like you just bring it all for your teammates because you know they’re going to try to do the same so you didn’t want to be the one to let them down,” Aleknavicius said.

The highlight of the week was winning at rival Cedarburg last Thursday. The Hawks were swept by their rival last season and lost to the Bulldogs in a sectional semifinal.

Monday: Waupun 74, Grafton 57

The visiting Hawks took a 41-32 halftime lead but couldn’t hang on as the No. 2-ranked team in Division 3 fought back. James had 26 points.

Tuesday: Grafton 73, Nicolet 48

The Hawks cruised to a 43-17 halftime edge. Eleven Hawks scored. James, Aleknavicius and Allison Viesselmann each had 10 points. Aleknavicius had six assists and seven rebounds.

Thursday: Grafton 59, Cedarburg 50

The Hawks held a 21-16 halftime lead and were playing the Bulldogs’ slowdown game, then burst out for a 38-34 edge in the second half.

Freshman Melanie Morgan, who has come on strong of late, led the team with 16 points and seven rebounds. Her sister, senior Marissa, had 13 points and six rebounds. James had 10 points and Aleknavicius had eight with six rebounds.

“We all wanted it really badly. Even with the long stretch of games, we knew that we had to bring everything we had in our tank. We did and we pulled it out,” Aleknavicius said.

D’Amato said that win was huge because it was a conference rival with a similar record — Grafton is now 8-4 and Cedarburg is 6-6 — on the road and playoff seeds will be determined by the time the two meet again in Grafton.

Friday: Grafton 87, West Bend West 40

Eleven Hawks scored again and, despite going deep on the bench, Grafton held the Spartans to eight points in the second half.

Aleknavicius had 22 points, nine steals, six assists and five rebounds. James had 19 points and five assists. Marissa Morgan had 12 points.

Saturday: Grafton 70, Sheboygan Falls 57

After a long week, the Hawks knocked off the 10th-ranked team in Division 3, handing the Falcons their second loss of the season.

Grafton clung to a 37-34 halftime lead, then outscored the Sheboygan Falls, 33-23.

The Falcons’ Addison Schliewe, standing 6 feet, 3 inches tall, had 22 points on 7-for-13 shooting but went 8-for-17 on free throws. She added 16 rebounds.

The Hawks, without anyone near that tall, did their best to hold her down.

“We tried to tire her out, having bodies front, behind and on the side and digging when she caught it,” D’Amato said.

Team energy wasn’t a hurdle during a Saturday afternoon nonconference game.

“They were here an hour before game time ready to go. They got here before I got here and they were ready,” D’Amato said.

“Seeing the record Sheboygan Falls had put a little bit of a pep in their step.”

D’Amato praised his team’s handling of the Falcons’ 3-2 zone, which the Hawks worked on in practice a week and a half prior because they were playing so many games.

James had 19 points and four assists. Aleknavicius had 16 points, six assists and four blocks. Melanie Morgan had 11 points and four assists. Marissa Morgan had 10 points and, despite being 5-8, fought for nine rebounds.

“She’s kind of like a Swiss army knife. The best thing is that her mental resolve is there. If she makes a mistake, she comes back and she impacts the game in a positive manner on the next possession,” D’Amato said.

Marissa’s sister has started to become an offensive weapon.

“I think she’s starting to see how varsity defenses move and where they rotate. She’s finding the open areas. She’s always been a good shooter,” D’Amato said of Melanie.

The Falcons went to 18-2 overall.

Grafton, 8-4 in the North Shore Confenence and 14-6 overall, played at Hartford (12-1 NSC) on Tuesday, Feb. 6, hosts Port Washington (2-11) on Friday, Feb. 9, and hosts Homestead (11-1) on Tuesday, Feb. 13.

Port Washington slips in standings

Port Washington lost at West Bend West, 67-61, on Jan. 30 in the Spartans’ first league win.

Maggie Zirbes had 16 points and Sierra Miller had 15 and five assists. Paige Scheunemann had 10.

Lizzie Thierer had 18 points for West and Paige Guse had 15.

Port lost to league leader Hartford, 82-52, last Thursday. Lillian Merow had 11 points, Norah Merow and Maggie Zirbes each had nine and Delaney Ruach had eight.

Makena Christian led Hartford with 26 points and 10 rebounds.

Port, 2-11 in the NSC and 7-12 overall, played at Homestead on Tuesday, Feb. 6, hosts Grafton on Friday, Feb. 9, and hosts Cedarburg on Tuesday, Feb. 13.