Janesville Craig’s Abigail Claas (22) scores on a fast-break layup during their game against Janesville Parker at Craig High School on Wednesday, Jan. 21. On Tuesday at home, Claas made three free throws in the final 37 seconds to help the Cougars edge Sun Prairie East, 62-61.
Janesville Craig’s Yana-Aaliyah Stevens (4) is fouled by Parker’s Kyra Babbitt (4) on a drive to the hoop during their game at Craig High School on Wednesday, Jan. 21. On Tuesday night, Stevens led all scorers with 27 in the Cougars’ 62-61 Big Eight Conference victory over Sun Prairie East.
Janesville Craig’s Abigail Claas (22) scores on a fast-break layup during their game against Janesville Parker at Craig High School on Wednesday, Jan. 21. On Tuesday at home, Claas made three free throws in the final 37 seconds to help the Cougars edge Sun Prairie East, 62-61.
ANTHONY WAHL/SPECIAL FOR THE GAZETTE
JANESVILLE — Abbie Claas was tasked with making three of the biggest shots of the night when Janesville Craig hosted Sun Prairie East Tuesday night in Big Eight Conference girls’ basketball.
The junior wing sank two free throws with 37.4 seconds left in the second half to tie the game. Then with 2.7 seconds left, Claas again stepped up to the free-throw line.
She missed the first off the back rim and the Cardinals called a timeout. After the break, Claas wiped off the bottom of each shoe, took the ball and calmly sank the second free throw to lift the Cougars to a 62–61 victory.
Claas, who’s been starting on Craig’s varsity team since a freshman, didn’t let nerves get to her.
“I just took a deep breath and knew that we probably would have struggled in overtime, just with some of our players being out. It was a rough game,” Claas said. “Especially towards the end. I just knew I needed to make it to push us to get the win.”
Claas finished the night with three points. She’s been battling sickness too. Even after missing the potential game-winner, she stayed cool and collected.
She said, “Not really,” when asked if she was nervous.
Janesville Craig’s Yana-Aaliyah Stevens (4) is fouled by Parker’s Kyra Babbitt (4) on a drive to the hoop during their game at Craig High School on Wednesday, Jan. 21. On Tuesday night, Stevens led all scorers with 27 in the Cougars’ 62-61 Big Eight Conference victory over Sun Prairie East.
ANTHONY WAHL/SPECIAL FOR THE GAZETTE
“The first one I thought was going in, but sadly it didn’t,” Claas said. “The second one, I just took a breath, and I knew it was going in.”
Cougars Avoid a Collapse
The Cougars are now 11-6 overall and 9-3 in conference play. Last season, they won just eight games all year. However, if there’s an aspect that still needs attention, it’s hanging onto leads.
Earlier this year, Craig lost 77–72 to Middleton after leading by eight with five minutes to go. Last season, the Cougars led by 16 at halftime against Madison La Follette, yet lost by three.
This time, although the Cougars won on Tuesday, they still frittered away a 25-point lead. Craig’s 26-5 first-half lead turned into a much smaller 34-25 margin at halftime.
Sun Prairie East relied on junior Ava Vogler to take control. The 5‑8 guard scored 18 of her 23 points in the second half, making four of her five 3-pointers during that period.
Vogler pump faked then drove into the lane for a floater to tie the game at 59. After Yana-Aaliyah Stevens — who led all scorers with 27 points — missed a 3-pointer, Vogler again drove hard into the lane. This time she made a layup while falling down to give the Cardinals a 61-59 lead.
Craig missed a 3-pointer on its next possession. The Cougars went 6 of 19 on 3-pointers. Craig switched to a full-court press and Sun Prairie East traveled, leading to a pair of Claas free throws.
Vogler missed a free throw on the Cardinals’ next possession. Craig grabbed the rebound, and coach Kellan Schmidt called a timeout with 10.9 seconds left. Stevens’ 3-pointer missed, but the Cougars pulled down another rebound. Claas was fouled, setting up the game-winning free throw.
“There’s a lot of things to learn from this game,” Schmidt said. “It feels a little bit better because we came out with a win. A win is a win, no matter how they got it. Abbie had to make that free throw at the end of the game.”
Craig takes on the Lancers in a road game on Friday at 7:15 p.m.
JANESVILLE CRAIG 62, SUN PRAIRIE EAST 61
Sun Prairie East 25 36 — 61
Janesville Craig 34 28 — 62
Sun Prairie (fg ft-fta pts) — Vogler 8 2-3 23, Place 4 0-8 12, C. Dwyer 3 2-2 8, Kavanaugh 4 0-0 8, Martin 2 1-2 5, K. Dwyer 2 1-2 5.
