Belleville girls and East Troy boys are the first to claim their conferences in prep basketball

As we approach the end of February, the Wisconsin prep basketball season is edging closer to the beginning of WIAA regionals. When this time comes, conference champions begin to emerge. Tonight begins the first two conference champions in South Central Wisconsin. Belleville defeated Cambridge 43-26, holding them to only eight field goals. The big story in this game is Natalie Manion, who scored 17 points. She stepped up with leading scorer Quinn Rear being held to four points. Check out this story by Rob Hernandez of the Wisconsin State Journal:

http://host.madison.com/sports/high-school/basketball/article_f50db7d4-1b7e-11df-aa8b-001cc4c03286.html

In the Northern Rock Valley conference, East Troy clinched the outright title in boy’s basketball with a 79-59 victory over Jefferson. Nate Dodge had 20 points, including five 3-pointers, in the win. East Troy has now won the Northern Rock in its first two seasons since leaving the Southern Lakes. The Trojans will be a tough out in the WIAA playoffs because of their high-flying offense. They came within three points of making the sectional finals last year, and they could very easily make another run this year. If freshman Nate Dodge can score alongside seniors Brett Bouwman and Scott Beckwith consistently in the tournament, a trip to the Kohl Center will not be out of the question.

Look for both of these teams to play well, especially in the earlier rounds. Belleville and East Troy should favorable matchups in the regionals, and they both can make runs in sectionals. East Troy may have the better chance of making state, but Belleville will push any team to the brink.

Girl's basketball: While the Northern Capitol is still up for grabs, Belleville needs a win to clinch a share of the title in the South

Northern Capitol

For standings go to:

http://prepstats.madison.com/?view=league&view_id=94&sport_id=2

Key games before WIAA playoffs:

Lake Mills at Columbus Feb. 16.

Lakeside Lutheran at Columbus Feb. 25.

The big game that may decide who wins the conference comes on Tuesday, February 16. Lake Mills travels to Columbus in a battle for the outright lead. Both teams come into the game with one loss, and the winner will control their destiny in the final conference games of the season. One team to look out for is Lakeside Lutheran. They are only one game behind the top two teams in the loss column, and they face Columbus on February 25. With a split against Lake Mills, a win at Columbus may put them in a three-way tie for first.

The first key game is when Lake Mills travels to Columbus. The first time these two teams met, the L-Cats shot 20 for 22 from the free throw-line and won 43-38. Denay Hering and Sarah Eck combined for 22 of their 43 points, and Columbus only had one double-digit scorer, Sam Seltzner. For Columbus, the key becomes free throw shooting. They have had more attempts and made more free throws against their last three conference opponents since the loss to Lake Mills. Yesterday, they were 13 of 16 from the line in the fourth quarter versus Lodi, which was the difference in a game that was tied after three.

The other huge game comes when Lakeside Lutheran travels to Columbus. The Spartans were one of the teams Columbus outshot at the line the last three conference games. A key for Lakeside will be to try and keep Columbus off the free throw-line. The Cardinals held a 15-point advantage at the line and won 64-56 on the road. If the Spartans want to win, they need to be more disciplined on defense.

Southern Capitol

For standings go to:

http://prepstats.madison.com/?view=league&view_id=95&sport_id=2

Key games before WIAA playoffs:

Cambridge at Belleville Feb. 16.

Belleville is undefeated and will face Cambridge on February 16 with a chance to clinch a share of the conference title, with only three games left in the Southern Capitol after the contest. The last time these two teams met, Belleville won by 11 points on the road. For a box score check out: http://prepstats.madison.com/?sport_id=2&view=boxscore&view_id=39318

Quinn Rear, who has averaged 18.1 points per game in conference play, dominated Cambridge in the last meeting. The Blue Jays will need to try and limit the damage Rear does. If she gets hot, she can drop 20-25 points and help build an insurmountable lead. Cambridge needs to stay close and hope for some big shots near the end of the game if they want to keep the hope of winning at least a share of the conference title for the third year in a row. Belleville will be trying to clinch a share for the first time since the 2007-08 season.