Kettle Moraine Showcase: Other Top Performers

<span data-preserver-spaces="true">I’m very close to getting all of Friday’s East gym games watched. However, there are a few players that deserve recognition from the west gym. With six games, per day there were some unfortunate cuts to the top five performers lists. I will recognize the uncommitted players that had a good argument to make those lists today.</span> <strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">[player_tooltip player_id="206574" first="Makenzie" last="Drout"]-5’9 G-’23-Kimberly: </span></strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">The main reason that Drout didn’t jump off the page is due to foul trouble. In the first half, Drout picked up three fouls in their game against Divine Savior Holy Angels. She played a good chunk of the first half with two and was conservative in her playstyle, doing her best to avoid her third foul, which she eventually picked up late in the first half. When the second half came around, Drout got to her aggressive self again. She only ended the game with 14 points, and nine of them came from the line. However, with Kimberly down by around 20 points, Drout getting to the free-throw line and scoring with the clock stopped helped the Papermakers complete the massive turnaround. Drout was good at getting her teammates involved by making the right pass at the right time, which led to a few hockey assists for Drout that won’t show up in the box score.</span> <strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">[player_tooltip player_id="209605" first="Claire" last="Bjorge"]-5’8 G-’24-De Pere: </span></strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">In De Pere’s first game, Bjorge probably got a little too much blame from me, especially in their trouble breaking Germantown’s press, when it probably was more of a team issue. In the second game, the Redbirds played Bjorge was outstanding. I don’t have her numbers from the game, but I know that Bjorge affected the game on both ends of the floor. Next to [player_tooltip player_id="132373" first="Jordan" last="Meulemans"], Bjorge knocked down threes, got into an in-between scoring game, and cut well enough to open the scoring in the first and second halves on the same Redbird play. The sophomore also played a lot of time late in the game with four fouls. Even with the four fouls, Bjorge played aggressively on defense. The sophomore made some massive steals that kept the Redbirds in the game. In overtime, Bjorge scored five points and nearly tied the game with a 3-pointer as time expired.</span> <strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Abbi Rupnow-5’4 G-’23-Verona: </span></strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Rupnow was the only starter from Verona I was not aware of going into their game against Appleton East. Although the Wildcats ended up losing the game, I left impressed by how well Rupnow controlled the pace, especially against the Patriots’ full-court press. Even with the size of the Patriots, Rupnow was not phased and did an excellent job breaking the Patriots press. The junior didn’t turn the ball over all that much and made a few 3-pointers against the Partirots 2-3 zone. </span> <strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Amy Terrien-5’8 G-’25-Pewaukee: </span></strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">For Pewaukee, about five players ended with around the same scoring numbers, and all of them fit about four different positions if they had to. I want to talk about freshman Amy Terrien and her game. The one stat that truly jumps off the box score is her five steals. Terrien was excellent playing defense on the ball and making things happen for the Pirates. Although the freshman had some issues scoring the ball, it was more just that she just missed some shots. The process that Terrien had to get those shots was good. These next four years for the Pirates have a lot of potential with Amy and sister Anna Terrian.</span> <strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Callie Ziebell-5’6 G-’22-Slinger: </span></strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Coming into the opening game, I had never heard the name, Callie Ziebell. I was well aware of her afterward. Learning about her recently returning from a torn ACL, I can understand the desperation in her game. The senior scored 14 points and knocked down four 3-pointers in a scoring sense. That was overlooked by me at the time because of her teammate [player_tooltip player_id="206573" first="Mallory" last="Hoitink"]’s 32 point game. However, the little things Ziebell did were incredible. For instance, Ziebell and a Mukwonago player fought for a loose ball on multiple occasions, and every time Ziebell ripped the ball away before a jump ball was called. Ziebell played every possession as its own and showed an unbridled joy for the game.</span>