Like her team, Franklin's Eickhorst has found the magic touch at the right time

Franklin - A few weeks ago, Franklin girls basketball coach Tony Kathrens was lamenting the fact that shooting guard Jenny Eickhorst had lost her touch.

It was bringing down the Sabers' offense and making it difficult to win. Around that time, Franklin had lost four of five games.

Apparently, the problem is now solved.

Eickhorst had six three-pointers and 23 total points as the Sabers held off rival Muskego, 57-53, on Feb. 7, and then she had four trifectas and 20 points in a 73-54 win over Racine Park last Friday.

"She's playing hard, shooting the ball well and hitting from all different spots," said Kathrens. "It's amazing what having the ball go into the basket will do for a person's confidence. We're just clicking on all cylinders right now."

With the two wins, the Sabers are now 9-3 in Southeast play, good for second behind Racine Case and 12-6 overall. They will go for four straight when they host Kenosha Tremper on Friday and will host East Troy in a non-conference game on Monday.

Against Park, the Sabers outscored the Panthers 20-8 in the second quarter and took a 43-27 lead at the half.

Eickhorst got help from Cassidy Mihalko (13 points) and Montana Mack (nine).

Kathrens said that the 5-10 Mihalko has really emerged as a defensive stopper for Franklin.

"We call her the 'Long arm of the law' because her arms are so long," Kathrens said. "It makes her something like 7-2 (laughs), but seriously, we put her on the opposing post player and it is amazing what she can do."

Against Muskego, the Sabers had a 43-29 lead going into the fourth quarter, but the tenacious Warriors fought back. Free throws helped the Sabers hold on as they hit 19 of 24, including eight of nine by Mack, who finished with 12 points as did Mihalko.

Aside from Eickhorst and Mihalko, Kathrens feels that Mack is playing very well and he is very grateful to Kayla Plath, a senior who comes off the bench and "does all the dirty work."

With the regular season winding down, Kathrens wants to make sure his team stays focused on every game.

"We're just going to try and take care of business," said Kathrens. "We do that, a good WIAA seeding will take care of itself.

"We're looking to give ourselves as good a position as possible."