FOCUS ON GIRLS BASKETBALL
AREA RANKINGS LW 1. Arrowhead (10-0) 1 2. Beaver Dam (10-0) 2 3. Milwaukee King (10-0) 4 4. Germantown (9-1) 3 5. New Berlin Eisenhower (7-1) 5 6. Mukwonago (9-0) 6 7. New Berlin West (8-1) 7 8. Pewaukee (9-2) 10 9. Cedarburg (7-3) — 10. Kettle Moraine (5-4) 9 NOTABLE Player of the week: MacKenzie Schill, Pewaukee.The Pirates opened the season with a huge void to fill with the loss of all-time leading scorer Abby Gerritts (Northern Iowa), but Schill’s play has made that transition a smooth one. Last week she did the job again, averaging 18 points, 7.5 rebounds, four assists and four steals in victories over Sauk Prairie and Waupun at Pewaukee’s Lady Pirates Classic. The 5-foot-8 senior guard had 15 points and 12 rebounds in a 61-43 triumph over Waupun (7-3) in the championship game. The performance raised her season averages to 18 points, 6.1 rebounds, 5.1 steals and 2.7 assists per game for the Pirates, who are 9-2 with losses to Woodland West rivals New Berlin Eisenhower and New Berlin West. “Not only is she scoring but also filling up the stat sheet in all categories every game,” Pewaukee coach Todd Hansen said. “She’s also our best defender so she’s doing it on both ends of the floor. She’s been at the top of her game all year.” Team of the week: West Allis Hale.
With a 7-3 mark, the Huskies are off to their best start since the 2002-’03 season. Victories Nos. 6 and 7 came Wednesday and Thursday over Greenfield and Whitefish Bay, respectively, at the Hale Holiday Tournament. “We’re just working the ball and looking for good looks offensively and sharing the ball well,” Hale coach George Sotiros said. “We know we don’t have that stud. We’ve got to play in that San Antonio-style team offense of keep working the ball, try to distribute it and be team oriented.” Balance has indeed been one of the team’s attributes this season. Junior guard Zoe Burczyk (10 ppg.) is the squad’s only double-digit scorer. Five other players are averaging at least five points per game. Burczyk and sophomore forward Abby Arena had 14 points and senior guard Julie Palesse and junior guard/ forward KellyAnn Sotiros had 10 in the 82-57 victory over Greenfield in the tournament semifinal. Sotiros had a team-high 13 points plus 14 rebounds as Hale beat Whitefish Bay, 55-45, in the final Thursday with the help of 16 second-half turnovers. “It’s going to be interesting to see how they keep progressing to see how far we can go,” George Sotiros said. “We know we still have a lot to prove, but we also want to sit back and celebrate how far we’ve come.”
Diamond in the rough: Milwaukee Madison’s Shantel Johnson is a player to key an eye on. The 5-7 senior guard is averaging 25 points and 10 rebounds per game in three games for the 2-1 Knights. “She’s really been working hard and applying herself,” Madison coach Kenny Green said. “She’s been buying into what we’ve been coaching her on.” Green says Johnson is a good shooter, especially from mid-range, but that her strength is getting to the basket. A handful of colleges, including Mississippi Valley State, which is coached by Milwaukee Washington graduate Jessica Kern, have shown interest, according to Green.
1,000-point club: Germantown senior Kenzie Schmitz averaged 18.1 points, 9.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists to led the Warhawks to a 2-1 record at the Christine Rathke Memorial Tournament at Franklin last week. On Dec. 13, she scored her 1,000th point during a 20-point performance in a 75-44 victory over Grafton.
Multiple wins: Waukesha North won both its games at the Blackhawk Classic at Fort Atkinson last week to give coach Bob Whiteford his first victories as head coach. Senior forward Camryn Szolyga went for 18 points and 15 rebounds in a 37-33 victory over Elkhorn on Thursday that snapped a 31-game losing streak that dated back to the end of the 2014-’15 season. COMING UP Arrowhead at Mukwonago, 7 p.m. Tuesday: This game marks the beginning of a big week for Arrowhead, which has undefeated Mukwonago followed by Kettle Moraine, the third-place team in the Classic 8, on Friday and state-ranked Germantown on Saturday. Brookfield East at Sussex Hamilton, 7:30 p.m. Friday: Brookfield East, which beat Oak Creek last week, goes for a statement victory in the Greater Metro. Milwaukee Vincent at Milwaukee Languages, 5:30 p.m. Friday:
Vincent tries to stay undefeated in the City.
Cedarburg at Germantown, 7:15 Friday: These squads have been the best in the North Shore so far.
Wilmot at Lake Geneva Badger, 6 p.m. Friday: Both teams have one loss in the Southern Lakes.
New Berlin Eisenhower at Beaver Dam, 4 p.m. Saturday: Two of the state’s best Division 2 teams meet in non-conference action.