Germantown's win over Tosa East highlights this week's girls basketball takeaways
Brown Deer, Whitnall turning Woodland East into two-team race
Friday saw Whitnall extend its conference win streak to six games with a 44-31 victory over Greenfield that moved the Falcons to 8-1 in Woodland East play, while Brown Deer made easy work of Shorewood in an 83-53 win to sit at 7-1.
The conference leaders won't play their second matchup until Feb. 9 – Whitnall won 60-39 in the first meeting Jan. 11 – but with defending Greenfield sitting at 6-3 in third (and a season split with Whitnall already secured), the Woodland East title chase is basically turning into a two-horse race as the season hits the homestretch.
Of course, things can change. Brown Deer heads to Greenfield on Tuesday already holding a 70-65 victory over the Hustlin' Hawks on Dec. 12 thanks to a 28-point, 13-rebound performance from Ameerah Grant.
Still, a pair of programs that finished a combined 10-10 in conference play last season are a combined 15-2 this season, one of those losses came in a game where they played each other. This is setting up to be an exciting finish in the half of the Woodland Conference that isn't dominated by top-ranked Pewaukee.
Elkhorn holds serve to set up huge rematch with Union Grove
The Southern Lakes Conference title race looks a bit similar to the Woodland East.
Thursday will bring the anticipated rematch between defending champion Union Grove (12-5, 7-0) and Elkhorn (15-3, 8-1) with both having cruised to victory Friday night. The Broncos stayed unbeaten in conference play with a 74-43 victory over Burlington, while Elkhorn beat Beloit Memorial 75-53 for its eighth win in nine games since a loss to Union Grove on Dec. 19.
Union Grove has won five straight since a rugged 1-3 stretch to close out 2023 that included losses to Catholic Memorial and The Prairie School. Four of the five wins in this stretch have come by double digits. Elkhorn has played only one single-possession game since the 54-51 loss to Union Grove, that being a 56-54 victory over Badger on Jan. 19.
Both teams have been dominant since their first meeting. The Broncos have won 38 straight SLC games and have won or shared the last four conference titles. Can a much-improved Elkhorn bunch end the streak?
Germantown picks up big win over Wauwatosa East
What a week for the teams at the top of the Greater Metro Conference standings.
After Wauwatosa East ended Brookfield East's 30-game conference win streak, Germantown did the Spartans a favor while helping itsown cause with a 64-59 victory over the Red Raiders. Minnesota State recruit Lucy Leininger had 22 points, eight rebounds and six blocks to lead the Warhawks as they ended Tosa East's nine-game winning streak.
The win sent the Warhawks to 13-5 (8-3) and hurt the Red Raiders (15-3, 9-3) in their effort to keep the pressure on Brookfield East (16-3, 10-1), which bounced back and rolled past West Allis Hale on Friday, 61-35. Wauwatosa East and Brookfield East have split their season matchups, but the Spartans still have a game with Germantown to close out the regular season Feb. 16.
With Germantown's win, the path has become even more simple for Brookfield East and the pressure increased on Wauwatosa East, Germantown and DSHA, which still has hope at 7-3 in GMC. If the Spartans win their next three games, against DSHA, Brookfield Central and Sussex Hamilton, there's no chance of any kind of title split.
Other Friday headlines
Catholic Memorial beats Muskego: The Crusaders completed a key Classic 8 Conference sweep of Muskego (15-4, 6-3) with a 68-57 victory to move to 15-1 (8-1).
Living Word Lutheran stays unbeaten: The Timberwolves remained the area's lone unbeaten team at 16-0 (10-0) by surviving Watertown Luther Prep in Midwest Classic Conference play with a 55-49 victory.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee-area girls basketball title chases coming down to wire
