FOCUS ON GIRLS BASKETBALL
NOTABLE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Macy Williams, Sussex Hamilton. The senior guard has led the Chargers to a 3-0 start in the Greater Metro and a 5-2 mark overall. Most recently she poured in a career-high 26 points on 9-for-16 shooting last Tuesday in a 63-52 victory over Wauwatosa East. Overall the University of Mary (N.D.) recruit has raised her scoring average by 6.6 points to 16.6 per game this season on 50.6% shooting overall (44 of 87), 47.1% (8 of 17) from three-point range, to go along with a team-high 2.6 assists per game. “Macy has been playing some outstanding basketball the last three weeks,” Hamilton coach Bill Scasny said. “She has been running the team and shooting very well. … She is a great team leader, and a lot of fun to coach.”
TEAM OF THE WEEK: New Berlin West. The Vikings (7-1, 4-0 Woodland West) defeated Pius XI, 66-56, last Tuesday for their first victory over the Popes since Pius since joined the Woodland in 2012-’13. “We have six seniors on our team and a lot of the product of why we beat Pius and why we’re continuing to grow and hopefully get other marquee wins on our schedule moving forward is our senior play,” West coach Collin Thompson said. Junior guard Alyssa Nelson averages a team-best 17.1 points per game, but those seniors are impacting the game in other ways. Forward Morgan Henrichs has been a strong post presence. Ewelina Schlomann and Skylar Berens have been reliable ball handlers. Lily Adkison has been a strong defender.
PAM KRUSE NIGHT: Milwaukee Washington will honor former coach Pam Kruse during halftime of the team’s home game with Milwaukee Bay View at 7 p.m. Thursday. Kruse led Washington to five state titles and coached a number of all-state players, including Bay View coach Dee Dee Pate. ROLE REVERSAL: Last season Lake Geneva Badger was 1-5 in its first six games. This year the Badgers are 5-1 thanks to an experienced squad that has adjusted well to a faster pace of play on offense and a pressing style of defense that takes advantage of the team’s depth. Badger averaged 46.9 points per game last season and 44.3 in its first six games. This year's team is averaging 70.2. The team’s start this season is a carryover from last season’s squad that went 12-6 in its final 18 games. Balance has been a staple. Seven players average at least seven points per game, with senior guard Jennifer Freeman (13.2 ppg) and junior forward Courtney Oomens (12.6 ppg) leading the way. The next two Southern Lakes games, however, are symbolic of the challenges that await the Badger as it faces the league’s 2016 co-champions Tuesday (Union Grove) and Jan. 6 (Wilmot).
BIG WIN: It may have been hard to tell by the standings, but Whitnall scored a key victory over Cudahy last Tuesday. Due to early-season crossovers against teams from the loaded West Division, Whitnall and Cudahy entered that game winless in league play. You can expect each team to move up the standings as the season wears on, though. Whitnall won, 53-43, overcoming a nine-point deficit with 121⁄2 minutes to play. Senior forward Sierra Grubor and senior post Jaden Kelley combined for 31 points in the second half, with Grubor finishing with 23 and Kelly 22. Jessie Knackert, a senior guard, finished the night with nine assists. “One of the things that is good with this team is they don’t look at the scoreboard and see they’re down by five or nine and start hanging their heads,” Falcons coach Keith Larson said. “They just keep playing.”
COMING Milwaukee UP Academy of Science at Milwaukee Bay View, 6 p.m. Tuesday: In this intriguing non-conference matchup, the Novas, who have talented sophomore guard Shemera Williams, will visit a steadily-improving Bay View squad that is 4-0. Pewaukee at New Berlin West, 6 p.m. Tuesday: Another game, another challenge for West in the Woodland West. Fresh off a victory over Pius, the Vikings play host to the undefeated Pirates. New Berlin Eisenhower at Pius XI, 7:15 p.m.
Tuesday: Pius, which has won seven straight conference titles dating back to its days in the Classic 8, needs a victory to avoid falling two games out of the lead in the Woodland West.