Milwaukee, WI

Homestead’s big week leads off Milwaukee-area girls basketball takeaways

Published

10 months ago

February 8, 2025

Press Room

Homestead’s big week leads off Milwaukee-area girls basketball takeaways

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.

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.

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.

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Milwaukee, WI

Brisa Do Mar restaurant in Milwaukee’s Third Ward has closed

Published

10 hours ago

December 16, 2025

Press Room

Brisa Do Mar restaurant in Milwaukee’s Third Ward has closed

Brisa Do Mar, a Mediterranean and Italian restaurant along the Milwaukee River, has quietly closed after a year and a half in business.

Chef-owner Ramses Alvarez confirmed that, after a busy summer led to a slow September and October, he decided to close his restaurant in early December.

“It was a difficult decision for a lot of reasons. I didn’t want to close,” Ramses said in a phone interview. “The restaurant was so beautiful and the best thing that happened to me, but it was very temperamental. I did everything possible, but we were not successful with trying to make enough revenue for us to say, ‘OK, it’s worth it.’”

The spacious, 300-seat restaurant, located at 509 E. Erie St. in Milwaukee’s Third Ward neighborhood, was previously home to Riverfront Pizzeria Bar & Grille. That restaurant closed in February 2024 after 20 years in the space.

Alvarez and partner Shannon Rowell opened Brisa Do Mar in its place on May 2, 2024. Just before opening his restaurant, Alvarez, who previously owned Dia Bom in the Crossroads Collective food hall and the Brew’d Burger Shop food truck at Zócalo Food Truck Park, said operating a restaurant in that prime RiverWalk location was an “opportunity of a lifetime.”

He said the restaurant’s proximity to the river and the Henry Maier Festival Park Summerfest grounds made for very busy summers, with multiple festivals drawing visitors who stopped in. Unfortunately, those busy summers did not translate to winter, when Brisa Do Mar struggled to attract repeat customers.

Brisa Do Mar’s varied menu included Mediterranean-inspired salads, pasta dishes, wood-fired entrees and both Neapolitan and brique-style pizzas, utilizing the wood-fired oven left by Riverfront Pizzeria. It also had 12 draft lines for beer, wine and cider, and served a lineup of specialty cocktails.

In summer, the 274-square-foot riverfront patio was an attraction for diners and boaters who could tie up on adjoining boat slips to dine at the restaurant.

Alvarez said he is stepping away from the restaurant business to focus on a new creative endeavor: producing Reels and other user-generated content for a digital marketing agency that creates content for restaurants and hotels worldwide.

“I want to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to all of our families, friends and guests that walked through our doors and supported us, to all the media in Milwaukee that have shown us so much love,” Ramses said in a statement. “The city of Milwaukee has been very, very good to me, the people here and their kindness.”

“I have spent 27 years in Milwaukee working in the culinary world, feeding Milwaukee families, supporting nonprofit organizations and giving back to the community that received me with arms wide open,” he concluded. “Adios Milwaukee.”

Renner Architects, developers of the Hansen’s Landing building where Brisa Do Mar is located, is seeking a new tenant for the 6,000-square-foot space. Interested parties should call (414) 273-6637.

This story was updated to add new information.

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Milwaukee, WI

Critically missing Milwaukee man; police seek public’s help

Published

23 hours ago

December 16, 2025

Press Room

Critically missing Milwaukee man; police seek public’s help

article

MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee Police Department is asking for the public’s help in locating a critically missing man last heard from more than a month ago.

What we know:

Police say 53-year-old William Riley was last heard from on Nov. 14, 2025, in Milwaukee. His exact location at the time is unknown.

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Riley is described as a Black male with a thin build, standing 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighing about 162 pounds. He has black hair and brown eyes. Police say Riley was last seen on foot.

What you can do:

Authorities urge anyone who may have seen Riley or has information about his whereabouts to contact the Milwaukee Police Department’s District Four at 414-935-7242.

The Source: The Milwaukee Police Department

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Milwaukee, WI

Wauwatosa West rises in area boys basketball rankings with team of the week nod

Published

1 day ago

December 15, 2025

Press Room

Wauwatosa West rises in area boys basketball rankings with team of the week nod

Wisconsin Lutheran remains the top-ranked team in the Milwaukee area high school boys basketball rankings.
Arrowhead, Greendale and Oak Creek joined the top-10 rankings this week.
Wauwatosa West was named team of the week after securing three wins, including two in conference play.
Several key matchups are scheduled for the upcoming week, including Brookfield Central at Wauwatosa West.

After some early-season nonconference bouts, Milwaukee area high school boys basketball teams began to get into the meat of their schedules last week with conference contests to establish the early pecking order.

One such battle was in the Southeast Conference between last week’s No. 2 team Racine Park and then unranked Franklin, which went 66-53 to the Sabers. Another notable pair of finals were the top-10 matchups for Wisconsin Lutheran last week, as the Vikings beat Slinger (68-46) and New Berlin West (69-20) to maintain their hold on the top spot while dropping the latter to others considered this week. Arrowhead, Greendale and Oak Creek join the top 10 in place of Greenfield, New Berlin West and Milwaukee Academy of Science.

Dropped from the others considered this week are Germantown (1-2), Golda Meir (3-2) and Howard Fuller Collegiate (3-2), as Kenosha Indian Trail, Franklin and Whitefish Bay fill up their vacated spots among top-10 considerations.

Here are our full area rankings, others considered, team of the week and matchups to watch this week.

AREA RANKINGS

Team (W-L), last week

Wisconsin Lutheran (4-0), 1
West Allis Central (4-0), 3
Wauwatosa West (5-1), 4
Kettle Moraine (5-0), 5
Brookfield East (5-0), 7
Arrowhead (5-0), –
Slinger (3-1), 6
Racine Park (3-1), 2
Greendale (5-0), –
Oak Creek (4-0), –

Others considered: Franklin (2-1), Greenfield (3-2), Hartford (3-1), Homestead (3-1), Lake Country Lutheran (3-0), Kenosha Indian Trail (3-0), Milwaukee Academy of Science (3-2), Milwaukee Lutheran (5-0), New Berlin West (3-1), Whitefish Bay (4-1).

TEAM OF THE WEEK

Wauwatosa West

The Trojans picked up a trio of well-balanced and hard-fought wins last week, including two in conference play to place themselves firmly among the early leaders for the Greater Metro Conference title again. On Dec. 9 in a 75-50 win over Germantown, junior 6-foot-5 forward Jalen Brown flirted with a triple-double with 22 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists to lead a 20-assist night for the team. Senior 6-5 forward Matthew Kloskey added 21 points, three rebounds and three assists, and senior 6-2 guard/forward Messiah Chambers was also in double figures with 11 points. Junior 5-10 guard Max Gogin was lights out from three off the bench, scoring 15 on five-of-five shooting from distance. Kloskey led the way in the Dec. 12 win of 74-63 over crosstown rival Wauwatosa East, scoring a team-best 26 points while hauling in eight boards. Freshman 5-10 guard Logan “Bear” Collins added 20 points, while Brown had 17 to go along with seven boards and five assists. Tosa West got another standout effort off the bench from junior 6-6 forward Kason Mangum in a 73-62 victory over Catholic Memorial to close out the week Dec. 13, as he scored a team-leading 18 points with seven boards. Kloskey and Collins each added a dozen points with the former adding seven rebounds, while senior 5-9 guard DJ Hennings had 10 points as well. Eight different Trojans scored in the last win of the week, which rounded out a sweep for the current GMC co-leaders with Brookfield Central and Brookfield East.

COMING UP

Milwaukee Bradley Tech at Milwaukee Juneau, 7 p.m. Dec. 18: Two of the area’s 25 boys basketball players to watch this season as highlighted by the Journal Sentinel square off, as Bradley Tech’s Jakari Smith visits Gonzaga commit Dooney Johnson and Juneau.

Brookfield East at Germantown, 7 p.m. Dec. 19: The first of two intriguing GMC battles taking place on Friday features two teams that finished within two games of the conference title last season and are looking to take the next step this year.

Brookfield Central at Wauwatosa West, 7 p.m. Dec. 19: The reigning conference co-champions in the GMC have unfinished business in their first meeting of the 2025-26 season, especially on the Lancers’ end. Brookfield Central was knocked off, 63-58, by Wauwatosa West in the Division 2 sectional semifinal last season as the latter would go on to win the state title.

Franklin at Arrowhead, 3 p.m. Dec. 20: The Sabers knocked off one top-10 team last week and could make a strong case for inclusion in our final rankings of the calendar year with another win against the Warhawks.

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