No. 2 Marshall wins double-OT thriller over Janesville Craig

It took double overtime but the Cardinals were able to hold off Division 1 Janesville Craig on the Cougars’ home court Jan. 19.

Senior Laura Nickel scored five of her game-high 27 points in the second overtime to lead Marshall’s way to victory. Her free throw with 0.4 seconds remaining in regulation tied the game at 53 and forced the first overtime.

There were two ties and six lead changes between the teams in the opening nine minutes. But then Craig went nearly nine minutes without making a basket and trailed 29-18 at halftime.

The Cougars trailed throughout the first overtime, but Kate Huml buried a jumper from near the free-throw line at the buzzer to force a second OT.

There, Marshall scored six quick points and never looked back as Craig played without all-time leading scorer Claudia Fieiras and sophomore and third-leading scorer Ellie Magestro-Kennedy after both fouled out.

“They (Marshall) are 13-1, and their only loss is to Beaver Dam and they’ve won a couple state championships in the last few years,” Craig coach Kerry Storbakken said. “I don’t think the girls think it’s a moral victory, but I think they know they played a good game, we’re right there and that we’ll win a lot of games if we play like that.”

Anna Lutz (16) and Halle Weisensel (10) also reached double figures for Marshall.

Freshman Mya Nicholson finished with 14 points to lead Janesville Craig.

MARSHALL 69

JANESVILLE CRAIG 62 (2OT)

Marshall 29 24 5 11 — 69

Janesville Craig 18 35 5 4 — 62

Marshall (fg ft-fta pts)—Lutz 5 6-6 16, Andrews 3 1-4 7, Rateike 3 0-1 6, Weisensel 2 4-6 10, Nickel 9 8-11 27, Ward 1 0-0 3. Totals: 23 19-28 69.

Janesville Craig —Campbell 2 1-3 5, Huml 10 0-0 24, Magestro-Kennedy 2 1-2 6, Fieiras 4 1-1 10, Clarke 0 1-2 1, Nicholson 4 4-4 14, Alderman 1 0-0 2. Totals: 23 8-12 62.

3-point goals — Marshall 4 (Weisensel 2, Nickel, Ward), Craig 8 (Huml 4, Nicholson 2, Magestro-Kennedy, Fieiras). Total fouls — M 14; JC 24. Fouled out — Magestro-Kennedy, Fieiras.

Pewaukee 68 Marshall 50

In a showdown of state-ranked teams Pewaukee got the best of Marshall for a second-straight year on Jan. 23.

The Pirates (12-6), ranked No. 7 in the WisSports.net Division 2 Coaches poll, built a 22-point halftime lead and never looked back, ending the Cardinals’ nine-game winning streak.

Pewaukee won last year’s game, 66-55

Marshall (15-2), ranked No. 4 in Division 3, was led by Nickel’s 17 points and Lutz’s 16.

Morgan Goodman led the Pirates with 15

PEWAUKEE 68, MARSHALL 50

Marshall 20 30 — 50

Pewaukee 42 26 — 68

Marshall (fg ft-fta pts) — Held 2 0-0 6, Lutz 6 4-5 16, Rateike 2 1-4 6, Weisensel 0 0-2 0, Nickel 6 5-9 17, Ward 2 0-0 5. Totals — 18 10-20 50.

Pewaukee — Knoke 1 0-0 2, Berglin 5 0-0 11, Stephenson 0 0-2 0, Newcomer 5 0-0 13, Westerman 1 0-0 2, Wallace 2 4-6 10, Zielsdorf 2 0-0 4, Opie 2 0-0 4, Chudzik 2 0-0 5, Bierce 1 0-0 2, Goodman 5 5-8 15. Totals — 26 9-16 68.

3-point goals — M 4 (Held 2, Rateike 1, Ward 1); P 7 (Newcomer 3, Wallace 2, Berglin 1, Chudzik 1). Total fouls — M 11; P 16.

Up Next

Marshall plays two games this weekend, against Laconia in Rosendale Friday, and against Wisconsin Heights in Cambridge on Saturday. Then on Tuesday, Feb. 2, the Cardinals play Lake Mills in a battle of state-ranked teams.

All three games begin at 7:30 p.m.