Kettle Moraine Showcase Day One: Top Five Uncommitted Performers
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To be clear, I have only watched games in the west gym and can’t say a lot about the happenings in the east gym. During the week, if there are streams to be seen, I will write up top performers…
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Continue ReadingTo be clear, I have only watched games in the west gym and can’t say a lot about the happenings in the east gym. During the week, if there are streams to be seen, I will write up top performers from that gym. I will only be talking about players who are currently uncommitted to a college yet. Otherwise, I could type up 1000 words about how good KK Arnold was against De Pere. These are the five players that impressed in their games Saturday at Kettle Moraine.
Samantha Schmitt Samantha Schmitt 5'6" | PG Oregon | 2024 State WI -5’6 G-’24-Oregon: I do not have a box score from Oregon’s win against Oconomowoc, but Schmitt was a sure-handed lead guard for the Panthers. Schmitt was organizing the Panthers in their zone or setting up the offense. I was sitting at the highest point I possibly could, and I could understand what the sophomore was asking of her teammates. When winning time rolled around, Schmitt turned up her intensity. She knocked down a couple of 3s and jumped one of those tied the game at 53. I left with an impression that Schmitt knew she was in control of how that game.
Natalie Gricius Natalie Gricius 5'10" | PF Oconomowoc | 2022 State WI -5’10 F-’22-Oconomowoc: Gricius was on the losing end of the matchup with Schmitt but was probably the most dominant scorer by quite a margin. I had not heard of Gricius coming into this game, but she was impossible to miss. The senior Racoon scored at every level and made life for the Panthers incredibly difficult because they didn’t have a good matchup for her. And even when she didn’t take the shot, she was all over the offensive glass and scoring putbacks.
Tess Wiczek Tess Wiczek 5'7" | PG Pius XI Catholic | 2025 State WI -G-’25-Pius XI: I have seen the Lady Popes twice in three days and have come away thinking that Wiczek is one of my favorite guards in Wisconsin. Although only a freshman, Wiczek plays a very mature game. For instance, she defended one of the quickest guards in Beautiful Waheed Beautiful Waheed 5'9" | CG Milwaukee Academy of Science | 2023 State WI and did a respectable job against her. In that game, against the Milwaukee Academy of Science, Wiczek was not very involved in the offense. That is until returning from a concussion check. After Wiczek checked back in, she played a role to help the Lady Popes to a home win. Today Wiczek pulled every string for her team. She made shots and was comfortable driving at the bigs of Waunakee. Even in this game, the freshman showed she isn’t afraid to scrap. Wiczek was boxing out a Warrior forward late and somehow took a shot to her nose and bled quite a bit. She only came back in and helped the Lady Popes close out a second win in three days.
Reenie Ganzer-5’10 F-’23-Pius XI: Another Lady Pope on this list may be a bit of a surprise, but Ganzer deserves it. The junior did not even start this game for her team. However, Seattle University commit Mya Moore Mya Moore 6'0" | PF Pius XI Catholic | 2022 State WI had to sit for long stretches with foul trouble. On came Ganzer, and she played well. Ganzer finished the game with 14 points and nine rebounds against a Waunakee team with talented bigs like Ashley Sawicki Ashley Sawicki 6'1" | SF Waunakee | 2022 State WI . I wasn’t expecting to see Ganzer play, let alone play that well.
Raegan Krueger-5’11 F-’25 Kimberly: I’m willing to admit I didn’t realize how well Krueger played until after the fact. In the chaos of the Papermakers’ massive second-half turnaround, Kreuger finished with 16 points for the Papermakers and was the second-leading scorer in the game. Krueger connected on a 3-pointer and was a help in the many aspects of the comeback like rebounding, helping the press, and keeping up the energy for the entirety of the second half to finish off the comeback win.