Buzzer-beaters help Muskego girls hoopsters down Oak Creek

Oak Creek - A buzzer-beating basket is always exciting, regardless of the score, but a pair of buzzer beaters proved to be the difference for the Muskego girls basketball team in its 53-49 win over visiting Oak Creek on Friday.

In the second quarter, senior guard Jessica Mlachnik capped a 10-0 Warriors run by swishing a 3-pointer as the horn sounded, giving Muskego a 25-18 halftime lead.

Later, after the Knights cut the lead to three, Mlachnik's desperation hook shot from the top of the key - released mere milliseconds before the clock hit zeros - rattled in, providing the Warriors some much-needed breathing room heading into the fourth quarter.

Post play brings back Knights

With the game far from over, the Knights again battled back and got within a point at 46-45 after sophomores Tamya Sims and Stephanie Kostowicz worked the high-low post for back-to-back buckets with four minutes to go.

But junior guard Jessica Cattani promptly drilled her fifth 3-pointer of the night, and junior Ashley Colla hit four of six free throws down the stretch to keep Muskego (8-4, 5-2) on top.

Oak Creek (9-4, 4-3 in Southeast play) still had one last chance in the closing seconds. But Abby Styczinksi 3-point attempt was blocked and Colla recovered the loose ball.

"It was a great high school game between two pretty evenly matched teams," Muskego head coach Brian Hirtz said. "We happened to get some great play off our bench, and that really helped us out."

Oak Creek head coach Steve Hluchnik concurred: "Their role players made some big plays for them, and we need some kids to step up among our role players and make some plays for us. I think our go-to kids did what they're supposed to, and so did Muskego's, but the difference was their bench."

Struggling on offense

The Knights committed 13 turnovers in the first half. While a few of those were forced by Muskego's full-court pressure, many came in half-court sets in which Oak Creek struggled to get in sync.

"Give our kids credit, they battled back," said Hluchnik. "It was a hard-fought game both ways, but turnovers in the first half hurt us."

Despite never grabbing the lead in the second half, Oak Creek hovered in striking distance throughout. But every time the Knights narrowed the gap, Cattani, who hit four 3-pointers in the second half and led all scorers with 17 points, responded.

"We call her instant offense," said Hirtz. "She comes off our bench and she's got that 'it' factor, that killer attitude where she can drain some shots. She was hot tonight, we got her some looks, and she was able to put them in. She was huge off the bench for us."

Sims led Oak Creek with 13 points while junior Morgan Kokta added 11, including three 3-pointers. Mlachnik tallied 10 points for the Warriors, including her two buzzer beaters.

With the victory, Muskego moved into a tie for second place in the Southeast Conference with Franklin, who lost Friday night to league-leading Racine Case. Oak Creek will be at Racine Park (2-5, 4-7) on Friday and then will host City Conference leader Milwaukee King (7-5) on Jan. 24.

"This keeps us in the middle of the conference race, which is one of our goals," Hirtz said. "We needed some confidence as we haven't had a real quality win all year.

"This is a quality win."