Too much Eichler and Grafton for Bay girls in NSC girls showdown

Whitefish Bay - If by the end of the girls basketball season the Grafton Black Hawks win a share of the North Shore Conference title there will be no doubt it was earned.

Lead by senior Hannah Eichler, Grafton outlasted Whitefish Bay on the road, 44-41, to match the Blue Dukes (16-3, 10-2) for second place in the conference. The win Feb. 16 was the ninth in a row for the Black Hawks (15-4, 10-2), seven of those being conference victories including one over first place Nicolet last week.

"That's another big team in a row," Eichler said. "We had two really big games right in a row for conference and to be able to come off of a very emotional win over Nicolet gave us a bit of confidence."

During the winning streak Eichler has scored in double digits seven times, going for 16 against Whitefish Bay and hitting four free throws with under a minute to play. The team shot a perfect 13 of 13 at the line, nine of those makes coming from Eichler.

The streak began after a nonconference loss to Hartford on Jan. 10 and Grafton hasn't lost a conference game since losing to Whitefish Bay in the first game of the new year. With the back-to-back conference victories over the two teams ahead of the Black Hawks in the standings a share of the title is in reach.

"We don't even think about nine in a row," Grafton coach Bob Maronde said. "We were just thinking about Bay and now we'll think about the team coming next."

Grafton grabs lead late

In a game that featured three ties and seven lead changes Grafton didn't take the lead for good until under two minutes left in the fourth quarter on a jumper from junior guard Haley Orlowski. Orlowski scored four of her eight points in the final period to supplement Eichler offensively.

The squads played high intensity defense, often times picking up each other full court and almost always extending coverage aggressively. If a player had the ball, a defender came right there with it on both sides.

"Both teams played their butts off defensively and made it hard to find good shots," Whitefish Bay coach Greg Capper said. "I think they just made a few more shots than us tonight in critical moments."

Early in the second half it was sophomore Maya Jonas of the Blue Dukes that took over the game for a stretch and had her team ahead after three quarters. After a slow start in the first half, the Blue Dukes leading scorer exploded for eight points in the third and finished the game with 16 to match Eichler. Jonas drilled back-to-back 3-pointers stretching the Whitefish Bay lead to four points and show off the fact that she isn't just an inside player anymore.

"Last year I was mainly post player," Jonas said. "This year I've moved more out to the perimeter and I like it because from there I can decide if I want to dribble in or back someone down."

Despite claiming victory over both Nicolet and Whitefish Bay in less than a week, the Black Hawks' conference hopes rely heavily on the outcome of the match up next week between those teams (Nicolet at Bay on Friday). A Blue Dukes win on Friday coupled with another Grafton victory means a three-way tie for first with one game remaining for each team.

Rooting for Blue Dukes

Maronde applauded the way his team has improved over the year after a rocky start and hoped they would continue to improve to close out the year. Grafton wasn't the only team Maronde was worried about, though, as he jokingly hoped for a beneficial result next week.

"Next couple games we have to keep getting better and hopefully Bay gets better, too," Maronde said. "Now I'm on their side.

"I'll get my Dukes' stuff out and be wearing it for next week (laughs)."

Wedged in the Whitefish Bay schedule before that showdown with Nicolet is a game against WIAA Division 3 power Whitefish Bay Dominican on Tuesday night (Whitefish Bay NOW.com for details).

Capper believes that the challenge of playing a team like Dominican this late in the season can only help to improve the competitiveness of his team. The game will pose a great challenge but Capper says it won't get in the way of the teams goals.

"Dominican is one of the best teams in the state," Capper said. "Then we still have an opportunity against Nicolet in our own place to win that game and have a three-way tie for first place.

"So as far as the goal of a conference championship, it's right there for us."