Sports

What a difference a week makes.

Middleton’s girls basketball team, which struggled immensely in its season-opening loss to Kimberly, rebounded in a big way last week.

First, the Cardinals rolled past visiting Madison Memorial, 58-45, last Tuesday. Middleton followed that up with a 77-53 pasting of host Beloit Memorial last Friday.

Middleton improved to 2-1 overall and 2-0 in the Big Eight Conference.

“We played at a much better pace the last two games,” said Cardinals coach Jeff Kind, whose team scored just 17 points in its season-opener. “I think we’re starting to realize how hard we have to play to compete. We have a long way to go, but we’re making progress.” 

Middleton got 14 points from junior center Anna Bunyan and 12 from sophomore forward Cole Jordee in its win over Madison Memorial. Senior guard Natalie Staples added eight points, while senior guard Leah Wolff and sophomore forward Jenna Blair both had six.

They’re still young and inexperienced.

Raw and somewhat undeveloped.

But Middleton’s boys basketball team certainly grew up some last week.

The Cardinals notched a pair of huge wins, first rallying past host Beloit Memorial, 60-51, last Thursday. Middleton followed that with an impressive 70-48 rout of visiting Janesville Parker last Saturday.

“This group really practices and plays with great energy and they genuinely like one another,” said Middleton coach Kevin Bavery, whose team improved to 2-1. “Both of those traits go a long ways as you build a team.”

Middleton trailed the Purple Knights, 38-37, heading to the fourth quarter. But Cardinals junior Luke Schafer and senior Tyler Markel both scored nine points in the fourth quarter as Middleton rallied for a huge road win.

Beloit was also whistled for back-to-back technical fouls in the final minute and Markel made 5-of-6 free throws to put the game away.