Joel Claassen's 700th career victory highlights this week's girls basketball takeaways

Joel Claassen picks up career win No. 700

There's a new member of the 700-win club of Wisconsin high school basketball.

New Berlin Eisenhower defeated New Berlin West on Tuesday, 61-40. Mary Kowitz led all scorers with 21 points and a capped off a double-double performance with 10 rebounds. Autumn Tevz chipped in with 13 points and six assists in the win.

The win gave Lions coach and Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame member Joel Claassen his 700th career victory as a coach. Claassen headed one of the greatest dynasties in the history of the state during his 18 previous seasons at Pius XI Catholic with 14 state titles and a 92-game win streak that still stands today as a state record from February 1988 to January 1991.

Claassen also led the boys program at Pius for 16 seasons, leading the Popes to seven conference titles and a pair of state tournament appearances. With Friday's 58-49 win over Milwaukee Lutheran, Claassen's win total now sits at 701.

Arrowhead moves one step closer to Classic 8 crown

As the regular season enters its final week, one of the best teams in the area moved a step closer to its first Classic 8 Conference title since the 2020-21 season. Arrowhead defeated Muskego to complete a season sweep of the Warriors on Friday night, 63-48. Natalie Kussow continued her stellar sophomore season with a 28-point performance and joined the 1,000-point club. The victory moved the Warhawks to 19-2 overall and a perfect 12-0 in conference play this season.

There's a pair of hurdles for the Warhawks to clear and capture the outright conference title next week. They'll head to Mukwonago on Tuesday and then the rematch with Catholic Memorial at home on Friday in what's seemingly a championship game. If the Crusaders win out, they'll either capture a split of the title or the outright title if Arrowhead falls to Mukwonago on Tuesday.

Pewaukee finishes perfect Woodland West slate for second straight season

Another day, another impressive victory for the No. 1 team in Division 2.

Top-ranked Pewaukee completed a season sweep of Wisconsin Lutheran on Friday to finish off another 12-0 season in Woodland West play, 74-56. Four Pirates scored in double figures in the win, lead by Amy Terrian with 21 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Giselle Janowski scored 19 points with four assists, three rebounds and three steals. Anna Terrian chipped with 14 points and five rebounds while Kylie Pieper added 10 points and a pair of steals in the victory.

The win marked the 21st victory of the season for the Pirates, who have now won 21-plus games four times in the last five seasons. The ship keeps moving right along for coach Jim Reuter and the Pirates.

Other notables

Franklin within one win of outright Southeast Conference title: Led by Natalie Meaux's 31 points on Friday in a 65-55 win over Kenosha Indian Trail, the Sabers moved to within one victory of the outright SEC title. A win either on Tuesday or Thursday against Kenosha Bradford clinches the outright title.

Living Word Lutheran bounces back after first loss this season: After suffering their first loss of the season to Cedar Grove-Belgium on Thursday, Living Word Lutheran moved to 20-1 this season with a 62-12 win against University School. Delaney Winkelmann led the Timberwolves with 16 points.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Joel Claassen's 700th career victory highlights girls hoop takeaways