Milwaukee, WI

Area girls basketball takeaways features All-American nominees and history made for Whitnall

Published

11 months ago

January 18, 2025

Area girls basketball takeaways features All-American nominees and history made for Whitnall

With the final couple of weeks of January to come, it feels like the girls basketball season is starting to hit that next gear as conference title races tighten and contenders truly start to separate themselves from the rest of the field.

We’ll take a look at the week that was around the greater Milwaukee area, including a pair of superstars who could join an exclusive group soon.

Pair of area stars named to McDonald’s All-American Game nominee list

Wisconsin has three McDonald’s All-American Game nominees this year, with two from the greater Milwaukee area. Hartford forward Makena Christian (Minnesota) and Pewaukee guard Amy Terrian (Michigan State) were both named to the nominee list, along with Hortonville star Rainey Welson (Maryland).

If one or both are selected to the game, which will be played April 1 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, they would join current Connecticut guard KK Arnold (Germantown, 2023), current Women’s Chinese Basketball Association player Sidney Cooks (Kenosha St. Joseph, 2017), current Dallas Wings star Arike Ogunbowale (DSHA, 2015) and current Oregon assistant coach Samantha Logic (Racine Case, 2011) as the only girls players from the area to participate in the game.

Christian has the Orioles flying as the leaders of the North Shore Conference with a 13-1 mark this season. She’s averaging 24.8 points, 9.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.9 steals this season. The Minnesota recruit also became the 40th player in state history to eclipse 2,000 career points earlier this season.

One-half of the Terrian twins also has Pewaukee where it usually is, atop the Woodland West standings at 13-2 this season. Through 14 games played this season, Amy Terrian is averaging 13.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 2.7 steals and is shooting 47.7% from deep. She also became the program’s all-time leading scorer earlier in the season.

Whitnall caps perfect week after not playing at home for 56 days

The last time Whitnall played a home game, the Green Bay Packers still had seven regular-season games to play.

For the first time since Nov. 19, the Falcons hosted an opponent and extended their winning streak to seven games with a 69-24 rout of Racine Horlick on Tuesday night. The win streak now sits at nine games following a victory over Shorewood on Thursday (93-70) and a 71-21 drubbing of Cudahy on Friday night to improve to 13-1 on the season. The nine-game winning streak is the longest since the 2019-20 season for the Falcons when they won eight straight from Jan. 10 to Feb. 11, 2020. It’s only the second streak of that length since the 2012-13 season in program history.

Along with the perfect week, Riley Ward had a 30-point outing earlier in the week against Shorewood and then scored her 1,000th career point during a 21-point first-half performance in the rout of Cudahy. The Falcons will likely be favored against Brown Deer and Cudahy again next week to extend the win streak before a massive showdown next Friday against Pewaukee.

Wauwatosa East stays unbeaten, only two area undefeated teams left

There’s only two Milwaukee-area teams with zeros in the loss column as the three-day weekend arrives for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday: Wauwatosa East and Bradley Tech/Arts.

The Red Raiders improved to 15-0 with dominant performances against DSHA (69-36) and Brookfield Central (84-49) this week to stay unbeaten, while the Trojans improved to 12-0 with a 59-15 victory over Carmen Northwest on Thursday. Tech raced out to an eye-popping 48-6 halftime advantage and put it in cruise control to remain undefeated.

Tuesday’s win over DSHA marked the seventh time this season the Red Raiders have held an opponent to 40 points or fewer. Emma Close scored a game-high 24 points for Tosa East, while Mikaia Litza flirted with a quadruple-double. Despite a 3-for-11 shooting performance with eight turnovers, Litza still had 8 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists and 8 steals for the home side.

Other gatherings including some tight title races and a statistical title chase

As the regular season enters the home stretch, you can expect some title races to heat up. The Classic 8 Conference has four teams with a 5-2 mark or better in C8 play this season. Muskego still paces the field with an 8-0 mark after a 55-38 victory over Waukesha West on Friday. Kettle Moraine Lutheran remains the lone unbeaten (6-0) in the East Central Conference title chase with Winneconne on its heels at 5-1. Tosa East sits atop the Greater Metro Conference at 9-0 with Brookfield East (8-1) lurking just behind with one more meeting to go between the two.
Salam sits perfect atop the Lake City Conference at 9-0 with Faith Christian not far behind at 8-2. The Prairie School leads the field in the Metro Classic Conference with Dominican (5-1) and Racine St. Catherine’s (4-2) in hot pursuit. The three-horse race in the Midwest Classic Conference is madness so far, as Lake Country Lutheran (7-0), Watertown Luther Prep (7-1) and Living Word Lutheran (6-1) all still have title hopes. Hartford leads the North Shore Conference, but don’t count out Whitefish Bay (8-1) and Homestead (7-2).
The top of the Southeast Conference has a pair of unbeatens with Oak Creek (6-0) and Kenosha Bradford (5-0). Union Grove leads everyone in the Southern Lakes Conference at 7-0, but Westosha Central lurks with a 6-1 mark. Whitnall (6-0) leads the Woodland East with Greenfield (6-1) right behind, while Pewaukee (7-0) handed Pius XI (5-1) its first loss in Woodland West play this week.
There’s another race around the area and that’s the statewide scoring title chase between Shorewood’s Serinity Metcalfe and Brown Deer’s Ameerah Grant. Both players are averaging at least 38 points per game this season with Metcalfe having a slight 0.3 average advantage (38.3) over Grant. Lakeland wing Kristina Ouimette is the only other player averaging at least 30 points per game this season across the state. Metcalfe has just one game below 30 points this season and four 40-point games, including a 52-point outing against Milwaukee Juneau on Dec. 10. Grant has been just as ridiculous with five 40-point games, including a 50-point performance this past Tuesday on 19-for-30 shooting in a win over St. Augustine Prep.

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Milwaukee, WI

5 takeaways: Horrific second half spells doom for Celtics in Milwaukee

Published

10 hours ago

December 12, 2025

Press Room

5 takeaways: Horrific second half spells doom for Celtics in Milwaukee

The Celtics have been on a heater recently, and midway through the second quarter against the Bucks on Thursday, it appeared they were going to cruise to a sixth straight win.

That all changed rather quickly as Boston would go on to miss 16 straight threes, losing in rather embarrassing fashion to a Milwaukee team without Giannis Antetokounmpo and who had lost 10 of its last 12.

Here are five takeaways from the loss…

Staying hot

As mentioned above, it wasn’t a night where Boston just didn’t have it — it was actually quite the opposite. The Celtics connected on 10 of their first 17 threes, with Jordan Walsh and Payton Pritchard each hitting a pair to build a 21-8 lead.

Midway through the second quarter, Boston was shooting 56% from the floor and 53% from deep, going up by as many as 14 in the quarter.

That all came crashing down in the blink of an eye.

Walsh’s efficient run continues

Walsh was once again why Boston was finding success on both ends of the floor against the Bucks in the first half.

The 21-year-old forward was perfect from the floor in the first half, connecting on all seven of his shots — including three triples — to score 18. Walsh also snagged three steals as his defensive energy continued to shine.

At the half, Walsh was 27-for-32 in his last five games, good for 82% from the floor. Like the rest of the Celtics, Walsh didn’t do much in the second half, finishing with 20 points on 8-for-10 shooting, but his offensive effectiveness continues to be impressive given where he was even two months ago.

Can’t hold a lead

The Celtics held a double digit lead on three separate occasions on Thursday night, and all three times that lead evaporated in just minutes.

When you have a team like Milwaukee, who have lost 10 of its last 12 and appear to be on the verge of losing one of the best players in the NBA, it isn’t hard to knock them out rather quickly. But each time the Celtics went up, they let go of the rope just enough to give the Bucks — and their half empty arena — some life.

A big part of that was Kyle Kuzma exploding for a season high 31 points. The journeyman forward went toe-to-toe with Jaylen Brown all night, getting the better of the superstar on multiple occasions.

Once that third double-digit lead shrank to nothing, Boston didn’t have enough to muster another one.

Brutal shooting

As is often the story with Joe Mazzulla’s Celtics, once the threes stop going in, the ship usually starts sinking.

That’s exactly what happened in the second half on Thursday night.

Boston missed 16 straight triples, which is good for the fourth longest streak in franchise history. During that cold streak the Bucks went on a 27-8 run en route to blowing out the Celtics.

The worst shooting offender of all was probably Sam Hauser, who missed all 10 of his attempts, seven of those coming from beyond the arc.

After scoring 67 points in the first half, Boston only put up 34 in the second half.

Bobby Portis goes nuclear

When you combine horrific shooting with 30-year-old Bobby Portis pouring in 27 points off the bench, it probably isn’t going to end well for you. Portis scored 18 in the second half, with two corner threes to open the fourth basically being the dagger for the Bucks.

The forward also wasn’t afraid to go after it with Brown, even drawing a technical foul after getting a little too close for comfort.

Portis also grabbed 10 rebounds to finish with a double-double.

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Milwaukee, WI

Brewers to sign outfielder Akil Baddoo to major league deal

Published

22 hours ago

December 11, 2025

Press Room

Brewers to sign outfielder Akil Baddoo to major league deal

The Brewers have made their first major league move in the 2026 free agent market.

According to Ken Rosenthal, the Brewers are signing outfielder Akil Baddoo to a major league deal. The major league nature of the deal is somewhat of a surprise, given that Baddoo spent almost all of last season in the minors.

Baddoo, 27, was a Twins second-round pick out of high school in 2016 and moved to Detroit in the December 2020 Rule 5 draft. That first season in Detroit went quite well: in 124 games, Baddoo hit .259/.330/.436 with 20 doubles, seven triples, 13 homers, and 18 stolen bases, which earned him 2.1 bWAR. But his bat has not reached those levels since, and in parts of four seasons since 2021, Baddoo has hit just .201/.288/.323 in 682 plate appearances. He spent most of the 2025 season at Triple-A Toledo, where he had good numbers: he hit .281/.385/.483 with 15 home runs, 21 doubles, six triples, and 25 stolen bases in 29 tries.

In the field, Baddoo is primarily a left fielder but has played some in center and a little bit in right. Defensive metrics have graded him as about an average outfielder, but those samples are not large.

Milwaukee had one open spot on their 40-man roster, which Baddoo will presumably take.

It’s an interesting move. The Brewers could use an upgrade in the outfield, but their depth isn’t bad; between Sal Frelick, Jackson Chourio, Blake Perkins, Isaac Collins, Garrett Mitchell, and (sort of) Christian Yelich, the Brewers have several viable major-league options. Brandon Lockridge is also in the mix as a player at the line between Triple-A and the majors. Baddoo does not project to be much of an upgrade, and instead will slot in for more depth, but MLB at-bats might be hard to come by.

In unrelated free agent news of some interest to Milwaukee fans that broke about the same time, former Brewer Hoby Milner has signed a one-year deal with the Chicago Cubs, where he’ll reunite with his former Brewers manager.

Update: According to Curt Hogg, the Brewers have also added outfielder Greg Jones on a minor league deal with an invite to spring training. Jones will be 28 in March and has appeared briefly in the majors over the past two seasons with the Rockies and White Sox. He was a fairly highly regarded prospect several years ago, appearing at #91 on Jonathan Mayo’s Top 100 prospect list prior to the 2022 season. He is likely to be merely added depth for the Brewers’ Triple-A squad.

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Milwaukee, WI

Hidden ‘Treasure Island:’ Wisconsin demolition exposes shuttered store

Published

1 day ago

December 11, 2025

Press Room

Hidden ‘Treasure Island:’ Wisconsin demolition exposes shuttered store

BROWN DEER, Wis. – Take a look in any direction around the FOX6 TV station, and it is clear Brown Deer is growing. The village is amidst multiple major developments that will soon bring new apartments, shopping, and restaurants to Milwaukee’s North Shore. No project is bigger than what’s being called Riverside Landing.

A hidden treasure

What we know:

“All told, it’s going to be probably a four-year build-out,” said Brown Deer’s development director Nate Piotrowski. “It’s such a huge piece of land at really the gateway to Brown Deer.”

As crews demolish what was once here, something unexpected happened.

Demolition of Treasure Island store, Brown Deer

“I said to my husband, ‘Oh my God, I have to stop and get a picture of that,’” said Lynn Hunsicker.

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“And I thought, I haven’t thought of that place in years,” added Cynthia Taylor-Gray.

As an old facade is revealed by the construction of the development, memories have come flooding out.

Demolition of Treasure Island store, Brown Deer

“It never occurred to me the old Treasure Island roof would still be intact under there,” said Karen Spinti.

Treasure Island revealed

Dig deeper:

Discount store Treasure Island opened in the early 1960s. First in Appleton, and then in the exploding suburbs around Milwaukee.

“They had everything from hardware to underwear,” explained Cynthia Taylor-Gray.

Treasure Island won awards for its design. This picture was included in the August 1963 edition of Wisconsin Architect Magazine. Photos provided by Wollin Studios

Taylor-Gray said despite not being in one in decades, her memory has been jogged.

“It felt like acres, just acres of retail merchandise,” added Karen Spinti.

Sprinti recalled getting dither when she dove into the clothes as a child.

Treasure Island in 1963 as seen in Wisconsin Architect

“I remember having to go to the bathroom urgently and not being able to find my mom,” said Spinti.

The Madison Location of Treasure Island as seen in 1963 Wisconsin Architect Magazine

For Lynn Hunsicker, her senses have returned.

“I really remember the smell when you first walked in because it had popcorn and hot dogs,” recalled Hunsicker.

Treasure Island locations included full snack bars located at the front of the store. Picture appeared in 1963 Wisconsin Architect

It’s all coming back, as the store’s old look is revealed again.

But for all the clothes and tools and food for sale, there was nothing more recognizable than what was on top.

“Shop under the squiggly roof,” said Hunsicker with a smile.

Designing The Squiggly Roof

Designing the Squiggly Roof:

The squiggly roof isn’t just bringing back memories for shoppers.

“Frustrating for an 8-year-old, let me tell you. I spent a lot of time in the book section,” said architect Jim Shields.

Shields’ memory is different than most. His parents didn’t just drag him to the retailer, his dad’s employer designed it.

The Milwaukee architecture firm led by Jordan Miller and George Waltz, where Shields’ dad worked as a structural engineer, had a number of high profile projects.

Key players

George Waltz graduated from Yale before starting the firm with Jordan Miller.

From Milwaukee’s airport terminal to the downtown post office, it was the firm’s decision to go with an untraditional wavy roof for a retailer that may go down as their biggest hit.

“It’s called folded plate concrete. Normally, concrete is envisioned as a flat slab, or a plate. But in this circumstance, they could fold it up and down. And that gave it long-span capability,” explained Shields.

Courtesy: Dekalb Historyv Center

Branded as the squiggly roof, the design allowed Treasure Island’s massive stores to have fewer beams leading to a wide open floor space. The shape is so unmistakable, the roof was seen in nearly every ad.

“All under the squiggly roof. That was their trademark,” said Merissa Howard with the Dakalb History Center near Atlanta, Georgia.

Courtesy: Dekalb History Center

Howard said that Milwaukee design was soon being exported to her neck of the woods.

“They were absolutely massive. They were over 200,000 square feet, which to put into perspective, is bigger than a Costco,” said Howard.

Courtesy: Dekalb History Center

Known as the Treasury in some states, by the late 1970s, the retailer started to struggle through a recession.

“They were too big. There’s too much competition,” said Howard.

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By the 1980s, Treasure Island’s run was over. The stores closed, and new retailers moved in. Those famous squiggly roofs went away.

They’ve been there all along

Dig deeper:

But if you look close enough you’ll realize those roofs never actually disappeared. Have you ever been behind a former Treasure Island location? It’s worth a peek.

“They had a roof put over the top of it to keep it from leaking. So it was really hidden away,” said Jim Shields.

Shields said most of the locations weren’t destroyed, they were simply retrofitted. The squiggly roofs were hidden under new flat roofs placed on top.

From Appleton to West Allis and Brookfield, a peek behind the buildings revealed the squiggly roofs have been there all along.