• Sussex Hamilton Girls Win First Ever Conference Title

    TOWN OF LISBON - Sussex Hamilton shook their losing ways and won their first ever Greater Metro Conference championship in girls basketball, cutting down the nets in celebration. They beat Divine Savior Holy Angels in overtime, 59-54, at home, Mar. 1.

    It wasn't an easy mission for the Chargers to accomplish. The Dashers made them sweat to the very end. Hamilton (17-5, 12-2 conference) knew they couldn't stop freshman sensation Arike Ogunbowale, so they limited her teammates on offense.

    In the first meeting between the two teams at DSHA, Caitlyn Coffey erupted for 18 points. She scored only four points in Thursday's game and fouled out in overtime. Ogunbowale had 26 for the Dashers, but she couldn't do it all by herself.

    The game began with both teams trading leads in the first quarter. Going into the second quarter, the game was tied at 15-15. Ogunbowale scored 10 of her team's points in the quarter.

    Ogunbowale was handcuffed in the second quarter, and her frustration showed. She didn't score in the quarter. The Chargers built momentum and a 10-point lead at 31-21 on a 16-6 run late in the first half and held on to a 33-22 halftime lead.

    Hamilton coach Dan Carney knew that no lead was safe against DSHA. The Dashers came back in the third quarter to tie the game at 37-37. They took a brief 1-point lead at 39-38 on Ogunbowale's free-throws. She outscored the Chargers 7-0 in a three-minute stretch of the quarter. Her 12 points in the third gave her 22 going into the fourth quarter.

    Hamilton held on to the lead in the fourth quarter and had a chance to put the game out of reach, but Jenny Shernell and Hannah Menzia missed the front end of bonus free-throws. The game went into overtime tied at 50-50.

    Ogunbowale's free-throws in overtime gave the Dashers a 54-52 lead, but that would be their last lead of the game. Mackenzie Latt made 4 of 6 free-throws in the last minute of the extra period to seal the deal for Hamilton. She led all scorers with 31 points.

    Charger Nation will be celebrating this championship for a while. DSHA finished at 17-5 overall and 11-3 in conference. Menomonee Falls also had an 11-3 conference record, but they moved in front of DSHA for second place because they beat the Dashers twice in conference play.