Muskego girls battled through ups and downs

Muskego - Throughout the 2012-13 season, the Muskego girls basketball team was never able to establish much momentum.

The Warriors started out 1-4 but used a three-game winning streak to get back to 6-5 in early January. They were not able to maintain that progress, though, losing five of their next six games to slip to 7-10.

They won a pair to climb within one game of .500 but then fell back again, concluding the regular season at 9-13 and 6-8 in the Classic 8 Conference.

In their WIAA Division 1 regional, they tipped Janesville Craig and then played one of their better games of the season, extending eventual state qualifier Mukwonago to overtime before dropping a 52-50 decision.

In fact, they lost their last two games to Mukwonago by a total of just five points.

Leading the way was senior guard Jessica Cattani with a team-high 15.1 points per game. She shot well from the field at 44 percent and was solid from 3-point range at 36 percent, connecting on 46 shots from distance.

She also racked up 104 rebounds and led the team in both assists (75) and steals (56).

"Jessica was an outstanding player for us this season," head coach Brian Hirtz said. "She kept us in a lot of games with her scoring ability."

Senior post Renee Bennett spearheaded the inside game, averaging 9.8 points and 4.8 rebounds and blocking 34 shots, while senior guard Ashley Colla was another key contributor this season.

Muskego loses six seniors in Cattani, Bennett, Colla, guard Julia Keegan, forward Julie Dusold and forward Amber McDonald, who played less than half the season due to injury.

- John Rech