Sports

For a good portion of the second half Friday night, Middleton boys basketball coach Kevin Bavery saw exactly what he had been looking for all season.

His Cardinals got the ball inside, attacking the basket on offense. They converted in transition and drilled the open three-pointer when needed.

On defense, Middleton’s zone frustrated visiting Waunakee, forced turnovers and had the Cardinals in position to earn a quality victory.

Then, just like so many times this season, Middleton lost its rhythm —and eventually the game — during a 56-52 non-conference setback to Waunakee.

After turning a 12-point first-half deficit into a four-point mid-second half lead, Middleton allowed the Warriors to go on a 15-2 run to pull away. After Middleton took the 45-41 lead, Waunakee finished the game with a 16-7 spurt.

Middleton’s boys basketball program is well past the point of moral victories.

But if there can be a “good loss”, the Cardinals had one on Jan. 16.

Middleton took Sun Prairie — the WIAA Division 1 state runners-up a year ago — to the wire. But host Sun Prairie made the key plays down the stretch and notched a 68-59 win.

“We were really close in back-to-back games last weekend, against two teams with combined records of 20-3,” said Middleton coach Kevin Bavery, whose team also suffered a narrow defeat to Waunakee last Friday. “We need to get to a point when we make a mistake defensively that it’s because we’re simply flying around too much instead of not enough. We’re confident we’re going to get there.”

Middleton is 4-6 overall and 3-4 in the Big Eight Conference. Sun Prairie improved to 9-1, 7-1.

The numbers were downright eye-popping.

Not only did Middleton’s girls basketball team topple host Sun Prairie, 48-28, on Jan. 9. Middleton did it in stunning fashion.

Sun Prairie entered the game averaging 60.5 points per contest — and managed just 46.3% of that total.

Middleton held Sun Prairie to just two points in transition. And Sun Prairie was held to a season-low 11 field goals and went 0-of-12 on three-point field goal attempts.

All-in-all, it was a fantastically impressive win for Middleton.

“Sun Prairie was a good win,” Middleton coach Jeff Kind said. “We’re improving. Defensively, we’re doing a better job in transition and we’re getting a better sense of team defense.”

Middleton senior forward Sitori Tanin led the way with 17 points, 14 rebounds and three blocked shots. Senior forward Kendall Roquet added 10 points, six rebounds and two steals, while senior forward Karina Bursac had nine points, five steals and five rebounds.

The lead — once as great as 16 points — was gone.

Middleton’s boys basketball team and visiting Janesville Parker were now tied at 61 in the final seconds of their Big Eight Conference game on Jan. 7. And the Cardinals were holding for a final shot.

Middleton fed center Parker Van Buren in the post, who found a cutting Logan Schultz, who then drew a foul with just 8 seconds left. Schultz calmly sank both free throws, and after a defensive stop, Henry Patterson’s dunk at the buzzer helped the Cardinals escape with a too-close-for-comfort 65-61 win.

Middleton improved to 4-3 overall and 3-2 in the Big Eight Conference. Parker fell to 2-8, 1-6.

For 20 minutes, Middleton’s boys basketball team was just where it wanted to be.

The visiting Cardinals led Janesville Craig, 38-33, early in the second half on Jan. 10. The Cougars then embarked on a 12-0 run that helped produce a 70-61 win.

Middleton, which fell to 4-4 overall and 3-3 in the Big Eight Conference, never came closer than five points after Craig’s game-changing run. The Cougars improved to 6-4, 4-3.

“Craig is without a doubt the biggest surprise of the season,” Middleton coach Kevin Bavery said. “Similar to us they lost a majority of their starters.

“Their returning players have obviously put a lot of work in as they have two of the better individual scorers in the league, one of whom was deep on their bench as a reserve last season. And their complimentary players do a great job of knowing their role.”

Middleton’s boys swimming and diving team believe they’re capable of bringing home the first WIAA Division 1 state title in school history this winter.

And the Cardinals proved last Friday those dreams can certainly become a reality.

Middleton, ranked No. 3 in the latest state poll, downed No. 2 Sun Prairie, 94.5-75.5 in a triple dual held at MHS. Middleton also defeated Janesville Parker, 139-31.

“We first saw Sun Prairie the previous weekend at the Marquette Invite,” Middleton coach Danny Lynam said. “They had a strong showing at that meet and won it, so I knew we had to get the guys pumped up for our dual meet.

In many ways, this was the best of both worlds.

Middleton’s boys basketball team edged host Beloit Memorial, 58-56, in a Big Eight Conference game last Saturday. The Cardinals improved to 3-3 overall and 2-2 in the league.

After a frenetic finish, though, in which Middleton nearly let a 12-point lead slip away in the final minutes, Cardinals coach Kevin Bavery had several teachable moments to bring back with him to practice this week.

“The tape doesn’t lie,” Bavery said. “We left the gym feeling good about the win, yet a little empty trying to figure out why we couldn’t close the game out in solid fashion.

Janesville Craig can be a tough place for opposing girls’ basketball teams to play.

The Cougars typically field a high-level team. The crowd can get rowdy and there’s a definite homecourt advantage.

None of that bothered Middleton last Friday, though.

The Cardinals got 19 points from University of Loyola recruit Sitori Tanin and four other players scored at least nine points during a 73-54 rout of the host Cougars. Senior forward Kendall Roquet added 13 points, senior forward Karina Bursac scored 11, while senior guards Josie Lemirande and Evie Coleman both had nine points.

Middleton, ranked fifth in Division 1 by the Associated Press, improved to 10-1 overall and is 6-1 in the Big Eight Conference. Craig slipped to 8-3, 5-2.

“They came in and played like the (fifth)-ranked team in the state,” Craig coach Kerry Storbakken said. “Their length gave us trouble on both ends.

The Milwaukee Marquette boys swimming invite is the closest thing there is to the state meet during the regular season.

There are 32 teams that descend on Marquette in a meet packed with many of the state’s elite swimmers.

So Middleton didn't feel too bad after finishing fifth among the 32 teams last Saturday. The Cardinals brought just 12 swimmers to the meet and hung with many of the state’s top performers.

Sun Prairie won the meet with 226 points, while Waukesha South’s co-op (224), Madison West (212), Greenfield’s co-op (184) and Middleton (178) rounded out the top five.

“This was one of the fastest meets of the season for us, and there were some new teams which made it one of the fastest years for the invite,” Middleton coach Danny Lynam said. “It was the first and only time until state that we swam (against) both Waukesha South and Sun Prairie, who are the other two top ranked teams in the state.”

It’s probable that the best is yet to come for Middleton’s girls gymnastics team.

For now, the present isn't too bad whatsoever.

The Cardinals are currently without two injured varsity performers — and hope to get them back later this month.

In the meantime, Middleton is hanging tough.

The Cardinals went to the Mount Horeb Invite last Saturday and finished second in the division for larger schools.

Whitefish Bay won the team title with 138.375 points, while Middleton 131.1, Sun Prairie 129.775, Verona/Madison Edgewood 128.8 and  Waunakee/DeForest 126.425 rounded out the top five at the seven-team invite.

“Two of our varsity gymnasts (Lucy Hellenbrand and Jayden Mathias) are out with injuries hoping to return in January,” Middleton coach Kari Steck said. “So that will definitely make a big difference in our team score.