By this time next weekend, the anticipation for the WIAA girls basketball tournament brackets will be at a fever pitch.

For some, the first goal is checked off the list with conference titles. For others, it’s going to take a couple more victories to bring some hardware home this season.

In this week’s takeaways, we take a look at a trio of teams that have clinched conference titles, who is close to winning their own titles, and one of the hottest teams in the area capping a big week with a personal milestone.

Homestead vaults itself into thick of North Shore title race

They still need some help to preserve their North Shore Conference title streak, but what a week for the Highlanders.

Not only did Homestead hand Hartford its first conference loss in yet another thriller between the two programs, the Highlanders moved their winning streak to seven with an 84-46 rout of Slinger on Friday night to sit at 12-2 in NSC play with four games left. After a stretch where the Highlanders lost four of five games from Dec. 21 to Jan. 14 against stellar competition, they all of a sudden look like a dangerous team that will be tough to eliminate in a few weeks.

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Hartford (13-1), Whitefish Bay (12-2) and Homestead (12-2) all have four conference games to play, with a Valentine’s Day matchup between the Blue Dukes and Highlanders coming next week. If Hartford handles its business against Grafton, Cedarburg, West Bend East and Slinger, it is the outright NSC champion. But, if the Orioles slip in one of those four games, the door swings open for both the Blue Dukes and Highlanders in the title chase.

On top of a crucial week, senior guard Grace Zortman also joined the 1,000-point club Friday night. She became the third player on the current Homestead roster (Madison Fitzgibbon and Natalie Mueller) to score at least 1,000 points in a career.

The Prairie School, Salam and Union Grove clinch conference crowns

The Prairie School (Metro Classic) and Union Grove (Southern Lakes) officially clinched outright conference titles with victories Friday night. The Hawks cruised past a streaking Racine St. Catherine’s side with a 74-45 victory to move to 18-2 (12-0) on the season. It’s the fourth straight season the Hawks have either captured a split or the outright MCC title and they moved to 18-0 against in-state competition this season.

In the Southern Lakes Conference, it’s Union Grove’s world again. For the sixth straight season, the Broncos have captured at least a share of the SLC title. The Broncos (19-2, 11-0) dispatched Elkhorn in a 75-41 blowout for their fifth straight victory and the 10th in their last 11 games to win the outright title. Coincidentally, the lone loss came in a 67-61 defeat against The Prairie School on Jan. 18.

Despite a 37-30 loss to Kenosha Christian Life on Friday night, a 49-34 victory over University Lake/St. John’s earlier this week clinched the outright Lake City Conference title for Salam (16-3, 13-0) with three conference games to play. The Stars raced out to a 32-16 halftime advantage and put it in cruise control for their third straight conference title.

Other title races that could come down to the final week of the season

Classic 8 Conference: Muskego (11-1, two conference games left), Arrowhead (11-2, one conference game left), Catholic Memorial (8-3, three conference games left).

East Central Conference: Kettle Moraine Lutheran (9-0, three conference games left), Winneconne (9-1, two conference games left).

Greater Metro Conference: Wauwatosa East (13-1, two conference games left), Brookfield East (13-1, two conference games left).

Midwest Classic Conference: Lake Country Lutheran (12-0, four conference games left), Watertown Luther Prep (10-1, five conference games left).

Milwaukee City (Blue) Conference: Milwaukee Bradley Tech/Arts (11-0, three conference games left), Milwaukee Vincent (8-2, two conference games left).

Milwaukee City (Gold) Conference: Milwaukee Golda Meir (11-0, three conference games left), Milwaukee King (9-2, three conference games left), Milwaukee School of Languages (9-3, two conference games left).

Southeast Conference: Oak Creek (11-0, three conference games left), Kenosha Bradford (9-1, four conference games left).

Woodland (East) Conference: Whitnall (10-0, two conference games left), Greenfield (9-1, two conference games left).

Woodland (West) Conference: Pewaukee (10-0, two conference games left, plus a crossover game), Pius XI (10-1, one conference game left, plus a crossover game).

Other happenings around the area

• With its 59-47 victory over Shorewood on Friday, Whitnall (17-2, 10-0) stayed perfect in Woodland East play behind a 27-point performance from senior star Riley Ward. The 17 victories are the most for the program since the 2008-09 campaign, when the Falcons won the Woodland East title with a 17-5 overall mark and a 9-1 record in conference play.

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• In the 35th Street rivalry, Oak Creek (13-7, 11-0) continued to roll with a 46-31 victory over Franklin, moving one step closer to the Southeast Conference title. The win marked the seventh victory in the last eight contests for the Knights, who still have matchups with Racine Case and Park next week before a Feb. 18 matchup against Kenosha Bradford that could decide the SEC champion. The Red Devils kept the heat on the Knights with a dominant 77-24 victory over Racine Horlick on Friday to move to 18-2 (9-1) on the season.
• There’s just two undefeated teams remaining in the state and one of them resides in the Milwaukee area. Milwaukee Bradley Tech/Arts moved to a perfect 17-0 (11-0) on Friday night with a 59-32 win over Milwaukee South. Out of its 17 wins this season, 13 have come by double digits for the Trojans. With three wins next week against Milwaukee Pulaski, Madison and North, the Trojans could finish the regular season at a flawless 20-0.