Your contact: Eric Schmoldt, sports editor, 608-755-8249; To report game results: 608-755-8247; [email protected] SPORTS Tuesday, February 18, 2020—Section B Adding an exclamation point By Jack Miller Adams Publishing Group WHITEWATER There aren’t many weaknesses to the UW-Whitewater women’s basket- ball team as it heads into the final week of the regular season. The No. 4-ranked Warhawks have lost just two games and clinched a share of the WIAC regular season title Saturday. Whitewater has an overall record of 21-2 and is 11-1 in WIAC play with two conference games to go. “As a coach you’re always looking on improving every- thing,” UW-Whitewa- ter head coach Keri Carollo said. “I would say, statistically, tak- ing care of the ball a little bit better. It’s going to be some- thing we have to do. “Then I would say shooting a little bit more consistently. But otherwise, I think we’re in a pretty good place.” The Warhawks are middle of the pack in the WIAC with a 0.87 assist- to-turnover ratio. Whitewater is last in 3-point per- centage (27.2) and tied for last in 3-pointers made (101). “It’s just going to be repetition, get- ting in the gym and getting extra work in,” Carollo said. “Our girls know it’s (3-point shooting) something they have to work on and focus on. “Shooting is such a streaky thing. It’s just trying to get as many reps in as we can. I feel like at some point the ball is going to start falling in.” Senior guard Becky Raeder is sixth in the WIAC in 3-point shoot- ing percentage and made 3-pointers with a 36.3 percentage and 37 made attempts, respectively. By Tom Haudricourt Milwaukee Journal Sentinel PHOENIX No one has ever questioned Keston Hiura’s ability to hit a baseball. When the Milwaukee Brew- ers selected Hiura with the ninth pick in the 2017 major league draft, they immediately proclaimed him as the best hit- ter in the college ranks that year. It was hard to dispute that declaration after the right-hand- ed-hitting second baseman led Division I hitters with a .442 batting average and .567 on-base percentage at Cal-Irvine. Hiura’s hitting prow- ess remained on display as he soared through the Brewers’ farm system in 23 months before reach- ing the major leagues May 14. In 222 games in the minors, he batted .317 with a .382 on-base percentage, .546 slugging percentage, 36 home runs and 122 runs batted in. Hiura played his best at Class AAA San Antonio last year, compiling a 1.088 OPS in 57 games with 19 homers. With that back- ground, expectations were high for the orga- nization’s No. 1 pros- pect when he donned a Brewers uniform, but he might have exceeded them, considering the circumstances. Thrust into a playoff race on a team that would eventually surge to the National League’s second wild-card berth, Hiura batted .303 with 19 home runs and 49 RBI in 84 games, with a .368 OBP and .570 slugging per- centage. Despite playing just over half a season for the Brewers, Hiura slugged the third-most homers for a rookie in fran- chise history, was named the NL rookie of the month for July (.355, six HRs, 18 RBI) and the team’s player of the month in both July and August. He com- piled those impressive numbers despite spending 11 days on the injured list with a strained left hamstring at the start of Sep- tember. Is there any wonder the favorite descriptive line about Hiura among media members who followed him regularly was: “The man can hit.” “Keston did some really spe- cial things and set a really high bar for a player offensively,” manager Craig Counsell said. “Three hundred or so at-bats into his career, he showed what he can do. Brewers’ Hiura focuses on defense with few issues at the plate Hiura Turn to HIURA on Page 4B Carollo out to fine tune Warhawks Photo courtesy Shelly Schmidt Janesville forward Arsenii Smekhnov skates up the ice during the Jets’ 5-4 win Feb. 7 over Kenai River at the Janesville Ice Arena. Smekhnov scored his first goal as a Jet in the game and will play big minutes for the team. Team has no major flaws going into final week of regular season Carollo By Benjamin Pierce [email protected] JANESVILLE Janesville Jets coach Corey Leiv- ermann knew very little about for- ward Arsenii Smekhnov when the North American Hockey League season started in September. Janesville acquired Smekhnov from the Fargo Force of the United States Hockey League the first week of February after Jets forward Jake Dunlap got called up to the Force. Leivermann and the Jets are still learning about Smekhnov and his abilities, but it’s clear the 19-year- old native of Kirov, Russia, gives the Jets another offensive threat. Smekhnov has one goal and three assists in four games. “I think he’s going to fit in well here, and it’s going to be a boost for us. He came in and you saw the point production right away for him. It was nice for him to get some points, but he also just plays the game the right way,” Leivermann said. Smekhnov said the adjustment to Janesville has been an easy one, and he looks forward to finishing the season as a member of the team. “It’s definitely a really skilled game and one of the most skilled teams in the league, and they’re just a great group of guys,” he said. Smekhnov learned what it takes to be an athlete at a young age. His father was a professional ski jumper in Russia, and his mother played competitive volleyball. Smekhnov makes a name for himself It’s definitely a really skilled game and one of the most skilled teams in the league, and they’re just a great group of guys Arsenii Smekhnov about joining the Jets and the NAHL “ ” Associated Press The No. 6 car driven by Ryan Newman goes airborne after being hit by the No. 32 car driven by Corey LaJoie during the final lap of the Daytona 500 on Monday night. Newman, who led the race briefly during the final lap, was hospitalized in serious condition with non-life threatening injuries. Denny Hamlin won the race for the second straight year. Story on 3B Scary finish at Daytona By Josh Flickinger Adams Publishing Group CLINTON When a conference’s top two teams get together late in the season, one would expect the stakes to be high. Monday night in Clinton, the host Cou- gars and Evansville were merely playing for pride. The Blue Devils solidified their standing as the Rock Valley Conference’s top team with a convincing 56-42 victory over the second-place Cougars. Both teams entered Monday night’s clash with seeds in their respective WIAA Division 3 brackets wrapped up and Evans- ville’s conference title in the bag. After Clinton raced to an 8-0 lead (with all eight points by forward Olivia Roehl), Evansville coach Tony Wiemiller had some concerns about his team’s approach to the game. ”We knew it was going to be a challenge really getting ready for this game with the conference title wrapped up,” Wiemiller said. “And we definitely started slow. They beat us down the floor a few times and played with more energy. “Once we woke them up a little bit, we played the way we wanted to.” Trailing 16-11, the Blue Devils went on a game-changing 12-0 run. Evansville 56 Clinton 42 Evansville puts frosting on Rock Valley Conference title Turn to POINT on Page 3B Turn to WARHAWKS on Page 2B Turn to JETS on Page 3B