West comeback dismantles Parker girls
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JANESVILLE — Fans left the Janesville Parker High School gym shocked and speechless Saturday after the Viking girls basketball team gave up a 22-point second-half lead and lost to Madison West, 57-52, in overtime.
Parker coach Tom Klawitter wasn’t speechless, but he had little to say about his team’s second overtime conference loss of the season.
“Without a doubt, that’s the worst I’ve ever seen,” Klawitter said. “We turned the ball over. We didn’t take care of it—that absolutely can’t happen.”
The loss dropped Parker to 4-2 in the Big Eight and kept the Vikings (5-3 overall) from tying idle co-leaders Middleton and Verona for first place at 5-1. Meanwhile, West moved up to a third-place tie with Parker.
Parker, behind three-point goals by Danielle Flood, Catie O’Leary and Savannah Shepler, jumped out to a 20-10 lead in the first quarter. The Vikings extended it to 31-18 by halftime when O’Leary heated up for eight of her team’s 11 second-quarter points.
After Parker rolled up an 11-3 advantage in the third quarter, during which the Vikings pushed their lead to 40-18, the rest of the game seemed like a formality. But West assistant coach Kim White, filling in for suspended head coach Lester Leuhring, saw things differently.
White said his team’s 21 turnovers through three quarters and shaky defense were the result of jitters going up against a powerhouse Parker team.
“Janesville Parker is one of the best teams in the state, and our girls, having to come down here on a 45-minute bus ride and then sit around for a couple of hours, just had a case of the jitters,” White said.
White said his Regents started applying more pressure on the Parker guards in the second half, and that pressure started paying off in the final quarter.
“We run a scramble defense that I’ve been running for years,” White said. “We just decided to challenge their ball handlers and see if they could pass out of the trap and then try to exploit their weaknesses. Fortunately, it paid off.”
The Vikings shut down West’s Ellie Pearson in the third quarter, but the 6-foot senior took control of the game when West mounted its comeback.
“She’s our big playmaker, and when we can get the ball in her hands, she makes things happen,” White said.
Pearson scored 13 of her game-high 19 points in the fourth quarter and overtime period.
Parker had a chance to escape with a win, despite the fourth-quarter collapse.
It took a 19-4 run by West to cut Parker’s lead to six with 3:31 left in regulation. With 1:15 left in regulation, West’s Liz Christianson tied the game at 48-48.
After the teams exchanged turnovers, Parker had the ball with 30 second remaining, but a long three-point attempt by O’Leary bounced off the front of the rim, and West grabbed the rebound. A mid-court toss by West’s Kaylee Heller was off the mark, sending the game to overtime.
Pearson and West dominated the overtime. Parker got the first points on a basket by Shepler, but Pearson responded with a three-point goal to put West ahead 51-50 and the Regents soon put the game out of reach.
White said the victory over Parker was not a turning point for his team.
“This is what’s expected of this team,” he said. “We have been a third-place or fourth-place team the past few years, but we believe we are better than that. This did not surprise us. This is what we have been expecting of our players.”
During his post-game interview Klawitter was in unfamiliar territory. He could not recall a more devastating loss. He was especially bewildered by his team’s defense on Pearson in the fourth quarter and overtime.
“First of all, we were not supposed to let her get the ball, which she did,” Klawitter said. “Then she can only go left, and we let her go left.
“There are no excuses for what happened in the fourth quarter,” Klawitter said. “This is strictly on the girls. They just didn’t execute. We certainly didn’t play team basketball in the fourth quarter.”
Parker hosts Madison La Follette (4-3, 3-3) on Tuesday.
Klawitter indicated there was nothing to take from the West game, and it would up to his players to determine what happens next.
“I can’t do anything,” he said. “The girls have to figure out where they stand. I’ll be anxious to see how they react on Tuesday.”
WEST 57, PARKER 52
West (57)—Heller, 4-2-10; Poffenberger, 4-1-9; Pearson, 8-2-19; Christianson, 4-0-8; Ward, 1-2-4; Cox, 2-1-5; Dickerson, 1-0-2. Totals: 24-8-57.
Parker (52)—McDonald, 1-4-6; O’Leary, 6-1-15; Flood, 4-0-10; Shepler, 5-2-13; Zinn, 2-2-6; Chism, 0-2-2. Totals: 18-11-52.
Madison West 10 8 3 27 9—57
Janesville Parker 20 11 11 6 4—52
Three-point goals—West 1 (Pearson), Parker 5 (O’Leary 2, Flood 2, Shepler). Free throws missed—West 8, Parker 5. Total fouls—West 14, Parker 19. Fouled out—Shepler.
Sophomores—Parker 41, West 30. Parker leading scorer: Julia Dement, 13.
Jan 9, 2009 at 10:40 a.m.
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Cool - So Klawitter should call his girls out so it doesn't come back on him and he doesn't lose his job? Not sure I follow the logic of this one.....
Jan 8, 2009 at 8:07 p.m.
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Wow! All this to-do about a high school basketball game. Remember, it IS only high school.
Jan 8, 2009 at 2:59 p.m.
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B-Guy, Should it come full circle back to him? NOPE! He has taken credit for loses in the past but why should he take credit for this one? He didn't single out one person. He called the whole team out. And thats what it was. A team in a losing effort. Then, once again, if coaches take credit for every time they lose, they'll be pushed right out of their job and be replaced. Let me help you out B-Guy. How about that NFL coach for the Detroit Lions. He took blame for every lose in the book (0-16). He also got paid a lot more than these high school coaches. Where is he now? You got it, gone! This call out to the team by Coach Klawitter was a wake-up call for his girls.
Jan 8, 2009 at 8:36 a.m.
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Cool - I am not saying that Klawitter shouldn't rip into his kids in the locker room or at practice. But a grown adult should never call out a 15-17 year old KID in the newspaper. He is the one getting paid to have them prepared. In the end, shouldn't it come full circle back to him?
Jan 7, 2009 at 2:58 p.m.
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B-Guy, Do you think that Madison West came out in the fourth quarter with a game plan? Lets see, the Madison West coach told their girls, lets be down 21 points going into the fourth quarter, and lets do a total 180 on Parker and change our game plan. Don't think so. Parker girls thought they had another victory in the bag so they started slackin' off. Just face it, these girls are to blame. Plus, I had a high school basketball coach back in the day that told us at half time, while down 20 some points, "Guys/Gals, if you can't cut the mustard, we can't cut the mustard." Now how is that going to fire up a team? Do you think that Bobby Night would say something like that to his team? We need coaches like Klawitter to get through to these kids, or they'll walk all over you or they'll do what they want!
Jan 7, 2009 at 10:46 a.m.
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Sounds like no defense in the 2nd 1/2. Are we sure Bob Sanders was not coaching?
Jan 7, 2009 at 10:13 a.m.
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Cool - Parker had a 21 point lead after 3 quarters. They must have been doing something right to that point. West made adjustments and Klawitter was unable to match those adjustments. Blowing a lead like this has more to do with the coach then the players.
Klawitter knows the game and can teach it very well. His behavior is horrible. He berates his girls in front of everyone on a consistent basis. I don't care if a parent approves of his demeanor...it has no business in high school athletics. The guy thinks he is Bobby Knight.
Jan 7, 2009 at 9:04 a.m.
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I think maybe Coach should have said "we" instead of the girls. He's just as big of a part of this team.
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Winer, I am a Craig alumni, and know of a friend of mine who did transfer from Craig to Parker to play.
Jan 6, 2009 at 6:56 p.m.
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whybesad - Your right. B-guy, Coaches don't stall anymore, unless your a team that hasn't won a game in ten/twenty years and you have a 22 point lead. Kids don't learn anything by spreading the floor and taking time off the clock. You play the game for 32 minuets not 24! B-guy, you would BOO any team/coach for stalling and you would BOO any team/coach for losing a lead like the story above. But once again, if you don't do what your told, you shouldn't win or get what you deserve, and in this case, a victory for the girls...
Jan 6, 2009 at 5:42 p.m.
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The girls and parents know how he coaches. That's his coaching style. If you don't like his coaching style then have your daughter go to another school. There is a thing called open enrollment now.
Jan 6, 2009 at 5:40 p.m.
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That's why they play the game. Any team can get beat on any given night.
Jan 6, 2009 at 10:31 a.m.
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Coolhandluke - The team had a 22 point lead. Shouldn't a coach be able to make an adjustment so such a lead is not lost? In game management my friend, in game management! You could sit on the ball for the 4th quarter if need be.
Jan 5, 2009 at 5:26 p.m.
Jan 5, 2009 at 3:46 p.m.
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I would blame the players as well. All week at practice, I bet Coach Klawitter told the girls make sure their star player doesn't go left! So if the girls don't follow the game plan and pay attention, all you parnets, adults, and kids don't know nothing about sports. You must do what the coach teaches you to win! If coaches take the blame for everything, we would go through coaches every year because you parents and adults would force them out. How do you think the Parker Boys team feels...
Jan 5, 2009 at 2:42 p.m.
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At least one on the current Parker team chose to enroll at Parker to be on the basketball team, rather than play on the Craig team, even though she lives with-in the Craig boundaries.
Jan 5, 2009 at 2:42 p.m.
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It very well may have been the girl's lack of execution in the loss. It happens when you have kids 14-17 years old. A HS coach should NEVER call out his players on the radio, in the newspaper, on TV, etc.
Klawitter's accomplishments speak for themselves. He is obviously a very good X's and O's coach. However, he needs a makeover in the public relations department.
Jan 5, 2009 at 1:28 p.m.
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never heard of anyone transferring FROM Craig TO Parker to play girl's basketball.
Jan 4, 2009 at 9:52 p.m.
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If Klawitter is such a bad coach, as some of you imply.....
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I wonder why someone would voluntarily transfer to Parker from the East side to play for him?
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Think maybe she recognizes that his discipline and methods might make her a better player?
Jan 4, 2009 at 7:29 p.m.
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Don't blame the players? Are you kidding me? If they want to be successful, then they will have to learn from their criticism. good for coach Klawitter. The kids need to learn. It doesn't matter if they are teenagers. Let me guess Gocougars, if a teenager walked up to another person and put a knife into someones back you would be the first one saying "Oh their just a teenager. Be nice." The sooner the kids learn that life is hard and sometimes unfair, the better they will be off. If you coddle them, then they won't learn what life is all about.
Jan 4, 2009 at 6:48 p.m.
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How can you blame a coach for this? I'm sorry, a 22 pt lead in the second half, in a high school varsity game should not end up in a loss. There is no shot clock. The players need to execute. There was less than 16 minutes left. Just spread the floor, keep possession, and wait for an open lane to the basket. This one does go 99.9% players fault.
Jan 4, 2009 at 5:41 p.m.
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we had a 22 point lead the girls did not play good in the 4th and ot
Jan 4, 2009 at 2:38 p.m.
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oops. typo. "strictly." I need to slow down.
Jan 4, 2009 at 2:37 p.m.
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Wow. "This is strickly on the girls..." Okay, then you had better not take any credit when "the girls" win next time, coach.
Jan 4, 2009 at 2:16 p.m.
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Good point gocougars. It is a game. Don't take your unfulfilled sports dreams out on the girls.
Jan 4, 2009 at 1:59 p.m.
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Shame on you Coach Klawitter for blaming the team for this loss. I have never heard a coach put the blame on their team before. These are high school players not professional athletes, they require a leader, their coach, to help them get the win. Maybe a change of defense, or offense would have helped, how about a pep talk to get their focus back instead of screaming at them. In a situation like this, teenagers need an adult to step up and give them confidence and assurance, not degration and insecurity.
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