Class 1A – Region 7: 2022’s who can Breakout

As we look for other ways to cover prospects we thought it would be beneficial to cover players in a way that allows us to cover those we don’t write much about. We will be using the region’s from last season as they were constructed. Obviously, these regions will change into next season but for these stories it was the easiest way to divide players and teams as equally as possible. We will be writing a series of three stories for each region in the state and the categories are as follows: 2023’s to put on Your Radar, 2022’s who can Breakout, and 2021’s Who Should be Valued by Colleges. We will continue to go through each region and aim to hit as many players as we can that we haven’t talked about previously. Here are five 2022’s who could be primed for big seasons. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="129023" first="Macy" last="Emgarten"] - Exira-EHK</strong> Exira-EHK put together a 21-win season that included a run to the regional championship before coming up short. Now, the youthful Spartans are primed for more success behind the likes of [player_tooltip player_id="129023" first="Macy" last="Emgarten"]. The sophomore led Exira-EHK in both scoring and rebounding this past year, averaging almost 16 and eight per game. She shot 43 percent from the floor and 45 percent from the 3-point line, with three boards a night coming on the offensive glass. In all, Emgarten had 364 points, 180 rebounds, 49 steals, 26 assists and 18 blocks as the Spartans won the Rolling Valley Conference title. Aleah Hermensen - Audubon Audubon finished with 15 wins before running into Stanton in the regional quarterfinals. Sophomore Aleah Hermensen was a key contributor night in and night out, leading the Wheelers at almost 15 points per game. Hermensen shot 37 percent from the field, 31 percent from the 3-point line and 75 percent at the free throw stripe, leading Audubon with almost three assists a night. She finished the season with 338 points, 155 rebounds, 64 steals and 52 assists. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="129061" first="Kaelynn" last="Driskell"] - Fremont-Mills</strong> One of two young starters, Fremont-Mills sophomore [player_tooltip player_id="129061" first="Kaelynn" last="Driskell"] showed she is ready to carry even more of the load next year. Driskell was the leading scorer for the Knights with 225 total points, adding 71 rebounds, 48 steals and 22 assists. She even blocked a handful of shots on defense. The leading 3-point shooter for Fremont-Mills, Driskell knocked down 42 triples, shooting over 40 percent from long-range. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="63659" first="Jaci" last="Christensen"] - Audubon</strong> Almost a double-double machine as a sophomore, Audubon’s [player_tooltip player_id="63659" first="Jaci" last="Christensen"] will definitely be flirting with that this coming year. Christensen averaged 12.5 points and nine boards a night, shooting 48 percent from the field and 77 percent from the free throw line. She had 287 total points, 204 rebounds and 42 steals in all. <strong>Chay Ward - Sidney</strong> Sophomore Chay Ward helped Sidney reach double digits in wins, scoring 206 points on the year. Ward, who made 35 three-pointers, also had 95 rebounds, 38 steals, 17 assists and 10 blocks. She was the only member of her team to reach double figures for assists, steals and blocks.