Sports

Redemption.

When Middleton’s girls basketball team begins the 2014-’15 campaign, that could very well be the Cardinals’ buzzword.

Middleton just completed a terrific season, going 20-4 overall and winning the Big Eight Conference for the seventh time in eight years. But it’s the ending that will bother the Cardinals until next season begins.

Middleton fell to Sun Prairie in a WIAA Division 1 regional final in a stunning upset. And when next year begins, the Cardinals will be aiming for a far happier ending.

“We will want to make it farther than this year, because it really shouldn’t have ended this soon,” Middleton junior forward Cole Jordee said. “We need to redeem ourselves.”

Cardinals junior guard Elizabeth Norregaard agreed.

“The season ending like this will definitely contribute to my motivation and determination to win next year,” Norregaard said. “And I’m sure I’m not the only one.”

This isn’t how it was supposed to end.

Not on the first Saturday night of the postseason. Not in a regional semifinal.

And certainly not against a team Middleton’s girls basketball team had dismantled twice during the regular season.

But that’s exactly what happened as visiting Sun Prairie stunned Middleton last Saturday night in a WIAA Division 1 regional final. Sun Prairie built a 30-17 halftime lead, withstood a third quarter surge by Middleton, and posted a stunning 54-49 win.

Sun Prairie, the sectional’s No. 5 seed and the sixth place team in the Big Eight Conference, improved to 11-13. Middleton, the Big Eight champion and the sectional’s No. 1 seed, ended an otherwise terrific season at 20-4.

“I wish there was a good explanation,” Middleton coach Jeff Kind said. “They played well, probably the best they’ve played all year and we didn’t.

WISCONSIN RAPIDS — Kari Steck knew what was realistic.

As Middleton’s girls gymnastics coach studied the WIAA Division 1 state field last week, one thing was clear: there were three Milwaukee-area teams that seemed head and shoulders above the field.

So Steck set this goal for her team.

“We thought it would be awesome to aim for fourth place,” Steck said. “The top three teams in the state dominate Division 1.

“There was no way for us to even come close to the scores they put up. But fourth was a good goal for the girls.”

And one that Middleton was thrilled to achieve.

The Cardinals had one of their best meets of the year, posting a score of 142.9480 that landed them in fourth place.

The Franklin co-op team won the meet with a 147.2850, while Burlington’s co-op team was second (147.2330) and Arrowhead was third (146.4840).

Middleton finished more than one point ahead of fifth place Mequon Homestead (141.8350).

WISCONSIN RAPIDS — Aryn Skibba knew this was the end.

The finality to a brilliant high school career. The closing of a memorable chapter in her life.

So Skibba did what she’s done time and time again. She shined.

Skibba, a senior gymnast at Middleton, finished third in the all-around competition at the WIAA Division 1 individual state meet Saturday held at Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln High School. Arrowhead’s Jorin Fredman won the event with a 38.217 score, while Skibba was right on her heels at 37.90.

“I was really thrilled because my score was high and I stuck all my routines,” Skibba said afterwards. “My beam was a little shaky, but I stayed on and that's all I wanted. My other routines were some of my best, so I'm not complaining.”

Skibba was sixth at state a year ago and fourth in 2012. But this was her highest score and best overall finish.

There will be new faces everywhere.

New starters, new rotations, perhaps even a new system.

When the 2014-’15 boys basketball season begins in November, no team in the Big Eight will have experienced more changes than Middleton.

That’s because the Cardinals are coming off a 13-11 season in which their top six players were seniors. So when the new campaign begins, Middleton will look entirely different than when this season ended.

“Next year will be interesting as we are probably losing the most 'stats' from any team I've ever had that are going with the seniors who will be moving on,” Cardinals coach Kevin Bavery said. “As we always say, ‘opportunity for everybody but guarantees for no one.’ It will be very competitive to make the roster as well as for rotation spots.”

Outright conference champions.

Sectional favorites.

Pursuers of a WIAA Division 1 state title.

Middleton’s girls basketball team wears all of those titles following another exciting week.

The Cardinals defeated Madison Memorial, 58-41, last Thursday and claimed sole possession of the Big Eight Conference title. Middleton finished the year 17-1 in the league and edged Verona (16-2) by one game for the conference crown.

It was Middleton’s seventh conference title in eight years — with the only hiccup coming last season.

“We were all thrilled to win conference outright,” Middleton senior forward Liz McMahon said. “It gives us confidence going into playoffs, and it’s something we’re all proud of.

SUN PRAIRIE — Up one moment.

Down the next.

Much like its season, inconsistency plagued Middleton’s boys basketball team in a season-ending 52-44 loss to Sun Prairie in a WIAA Division 1 regional final last Saturday.

There were times during the game where Middleton looked to be on the verge of pulling away. However, Sun Prairie stayed close and then outscored Middleton 15-3 in the fourth quarter.

“There were so many instances where we were right on the edge of pushing it out of reach,” Middleton coach Kevin Bavery said. “All we needed was one of almost anything to happen our way and clearly nothing did.”

Middleton finished its season with a 13-11 overall record.

Their season hung in the balance. And the way Middleton’s year had gone, it would have been very easy to count the Cardinals out.

Visiting Madison La Follette opened the fourth quarter of last Friday’s WIAA Division 1 regional semifinal on a 7-0 burst. That gave the Lancers their first lead of the second half at 38-36.

“We had adversity all year,” Middleton senior forward Demond Hill said. “This was just the latest.”

On this night, though, Middleton navigated through the difficulty with aplomb. The Cardinals smacked the Lancers with a 14-4 run, reclaimed a 50-42 lead, and went on to an impressive 57-49 win.

Middleton fell the next night in a regional final at Sun Prairie. But in a year laced with inconsistency, the Cardinals came up big in their final home game of the season.

MADISON — It may have been the longest 10 weeks of Aryn Skibba’s young life.

The devoted, passionate, remarkably gifted Middleton gymnast went from standout to spectator.

And watching her teammates compete hurt immensely. Perhaps even more than the back injury that had sidelined Skibba.

“It was awful,” Skibba said. “Just awful.”

Today, Skibba is making up for lost time.

Skibba set a school record in the all-around competition with her score of 38.10 at last Saturday’s Madison Memorial Sectional. Not only did Skibba win the all-around title, she posted the second-highest all-around score from any sectional in the state.

Now, Skibba and the Cardinals head to the WIAA Division 1 state meet at Wisconsin Rapids High School full of confidence. The team competition begins Friday at 2 p.m. and the individual competition starts Saturday at 11 a.m.

MADISON — The numbers had been tabulated.

The results had been conveyed to Middleton girls gymnastics coach Kari Steck.

Steck paused momentarily, then let loose an extremely enthusiastic “Woo Hoo.”

“Woo Hoo” was right.

In a memorable performance, the Cardinals rolled to the championship at last Saturday’s Madison Memorial Sectional.

Middleton posted a team score of 143.5250 and toppled runner-up Madison Memorial (142.750) for the title. That’s believed to be the second-best postseason score in school history. Middleton’s 2001 team scored a 144.2167 at the state meet.

“I’m really happy,” said Cardinals senior Aryn Skibba, who won the all-around championship. “I think we just came in today and needed to be a team and have fun. And I think that really showed.”