Wednesday State Sports Briefs: Bucks have to sign by Jennings by tonight or he'll be a restricted free agent in July

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MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee Bucks say they want to keep point guard Brandon Jennings. But if they don’t sign him by 11 o’clock tonight, he’ll become a restricted free agent next July – and the Bucks would have to match any offer Jennings gets in order to keep him.

He was the 10th pick in the 2009 draft. And only two other players from that class have agreed to long-term extensions – Blake Griffin of the LA Clippers and Ty Lawson of Denver. Jennings started all 66 games in last year’s lockout-shortened season. For his first three years in the league, Jennings has averaged almost 17 points and five-and-a-half assists per game. The Bucks don’t open their regular season until Friday night at Boston. The Celtics lost at Miami 120-107 in their opener last night.

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UW-Milwaukee will play Loyola on Friday night in the semi-finals of the Horizon League women’s soccer tournament. The top-seeded Panthers had a bye in yesterday’s first round. No. 6 seeded Loyola advanced with a 1-0 win over Valparaiso. Allison Shimer scored the game’s only goal in 30-mile-an-hour winds in northwest Indiana. In the other first round contest, fifth-seeded Wright State upset No. 4 Youngstown State 1-0 in overtime. Wright State will play Number-two Detroit in Friday’s semi-finals.

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There was a mild upset yesterday in the first round of the WIAC women’s soccer tournament. Fifth-seeded UW-River Falls eliminated No. 4 Oshkosh, 1-0. Carlin Bunting scored the game’s only goal in the 87th minute. And third-seeded Stevens Point won a 4-2 shootout over La Crosse, after the teams played to a 1-1 tie at the end of the second overtime. Sagan Pizzingrilli had seven saves for La Crosse in a losing effort. The semi-finals will be played tomorrow. River Falls will be at the top-seeded Whitewater, and Number-two Eau Claire will host Stevens Point. The title match is set for Saturday.

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The top two seeds were victorious yesterday in the semi-finals of the Northern Athletics Conference women’s soccer tournament. No. 1 Aurora eliminated the Milwaukee School of Engineering 3-1. Nicole Wolfe scored twice for Aurora. And second-seeded Edgewood advanced with a 4-3 shootout win over Concordia-Mequon. Edgewood will play at Aurora on Friday for the tournament championship.

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UW-Oshkosh and Eau Claire won their opening matches last night in the WIAC volleyball tournament. Fifth-seeded Oshkosh upset No. 4 River Falls with a 15-to-12 score in the fifth-and-deciding set. Larissa Krumplitsch had 15 kills for the Titans. Third-seeded Eau Claire defeated Number-six Stout three-sets-to-one. Nicole Bradford had 18 digs for the Blugolds. The tournament now moves to UW-Stevens Point, where the semi-finals and finals will be played. Oshkosh will play the top-seeded Pointers in Friday night’s semis. And Eau Claire will face No. 2 Whitewater. The championship will be determined on Saturday.

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There were no surprises in the opening round of the Northern Athletics Conference volleyball tournament, as the top four seeds all won their quarterfinal matches last night. Top-seeded Madison Edgewood shut out Concordia-Mequon in three sets. Number-two Benedictine blanked Wisconsin Lutheran. Third-seeded Dominican eliminated Marian three-sets-to-none. And Number-four Maranatha Baptist got by Lakeland three-sets-to-one. The semi-finals will be played tomorrow. Maranatha Baptist is at Edgewood, and Benedictine hosts Dominican. The title match is set for Saturday.

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In men’s college golf, Marquette University finished fifth and Wisconsin was seventh at the Wendy’s Kiawah Classic on Kiawah Island in South Carolina. Marquette had 896 strokes over 54-holes – 37 more than first-place South Carolina. Patrick Sanchez and Corey Konieczki of Marquette both tied for 19th among the individuals, at 222. The Badgers scored a combined 902 for three rounds. Thomas O’Bryan was Wisconsin’s top individual, tying for 12th at 219. Caleb Sturgeon of South Carolina was the medalist at 210.

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None of Wisconsin’s up-and-coming pro golfers are in the running for a full ride on next year’s PGA Tour. Eleven players with state ties all failed to advance to the second stage of the Tour’s Qualifying School. Former Wisconsin Badger standout Garrett Jones of Rewey fell one stroke short of advancing this week. He shot a two-under-par 278 in a qualifier at Florence Country Club in South Carolina. Jones tied for 22nd, and the Top-17 plus ties advanced to the next stage.

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Nate Wara of UW-Oshkosh, Nick Zimmerman of River Falls, and Nick Karleski of Platteville are the WIAC football players-of-the-week. Wara, a senior quarterback, threw for a career-high 369 yards and four touchdowns to help Oshkosh clinch at least a share of the league title with a 41-7 win over La Crosse. Zimmerman, a freshman corner, had the game’s only interception in a 24-14 River Falls victory over Stout. He two tackles for losses, including a sack – and he broke up three passes. Karleski, a senior receiver, won the weekly special teams’ award. He stopped Eau Claire from scoring on a fake punt with a key tackle in Platteville’s 24-17 win over the Blugolds. He also blocked a punt.

The WIAC also recognized Jonathan Stanley of Oshkosh and Matt Elder of Superior in men’s soccer – Tara Dennehy of Eau Claire and Kelsey Beld of Whitewater in women’s soccer – Nikki Gosson of Superior in volleyball – and Brandon Stephenson of Eau Claire in men’s hockey.

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