Monday Night Across the State: Best Unranked Upperclassmen

Monday night marked the last hoops we'll see from some of these hoopers before the holiday breaks, and they made an impression to close out 2021. Here are some of the best performances from unranked upperclassmen from Monday Night's action: <strong>Heather Gaikowski | Somerset | Class of 2023 | Forward/Center</strong> Gaikowski was a force of nature in Somerset’s double-digit win over Altoona. The class of 2023 frontcourt stud put up 30 and it was largely because of her dominance in the paint. Gaikowski consistently carved out space to operate down low; she gave the defense the opportunity to pick their poison with how they defended her. When the Rails decided to front her or soft double her, Gaikowski became the perfect pick-and-roll roller and bullied her way into high-quality looks. And when the defense played her straight up, she punished the decision with quality post-ups and ridiculous finishing at awkward angles. At a certain point, Somerset kept running the same baseline out-of-bounds play to get Gaikowski the ball on the low block, and Altoona could do nothing but watch as she decimated their interior defense. What set up her great performance was her footwork and concentration. In every motion, whether it be rolling to the basket or using a go-to post move, Gaikowski looked smooth and under control. There was a certain level of intention behind her actions, reacting to how her defender tried to match up against her and attacking that open space with precision. It cannot be understated how impressive some of her finishing was. She was consistently getting bumped and bruised on the low block, but kept her eyes on the rim and displayed a feathery touch around the basket. And while asking any player to drop 30 on a regular basis is outlandish, Gaikowski’s demonstrated the kind of player she can be down the road. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="329557" first="Grace" last="Schisel"] | New Holstein | Class of 2023 | Guard </strong> Schisel went bonkers in her Monday night matchup against Fox Valley Lutheran. It was her aggression in creating her own shot that dug New Holstein out of an early double-digit deficit. The class of 2023 guard finished the game with 28 points and demonstrated impressive three-level shooting ability in the process. Schisel lit up the FVL perimeter for six three-point bombs and showed a ton of offensive versatility in the process. Half of those treys came off of catch-and-shoot opportunities, but what was more noteworthy was her ability to create space and make shots off the dribble. Schisel’s other three threes were created via her handles, a skill that Fox Valley Lutheran found no consistent way to contain throughout the course of the game. The Huskies’ main source of offense in this game was Schisel’s ability to break down the defense with her dribble package. Her change of pace and shiftiness created lanes to exploit, leading to a path to the rim or an off-balance defender, both of which she took advantage of. Just look at the play below: https://youtu.be/hCZeC_RvI7U That’s dirty. Plain and simple. Borders on rude how heavily she shook her defender and Euro’d her way to the cup. Schisel can look a little erratic at times with her aggressive mentality, but she’s an extremely confident player with the ability to erupt like she did last night. Her handles, outside shooting, and attacking mentality set her apart. <strong>Kennedy Wenger | Mineral Point | Class of 2023 | Forward</strong> Wagner put in a monster two-way shift in Mineral Point’s Monday night win against New Glarus. Her presence on both ends was instrumental time and time again as NG looked to use their early momentum to put the game away. Wenger dropped a cool 17 points and put up numbers across the box score. She routinely stunted fast-break opportunities on the defensive end while running the floor well to try and nab a couple of easy buckets for herself. And while a lot of her impact can be attributed to effort and commitment, she showed a lot skill in the low post. Her combination of strength and quickness overwhelmed her matchup at times, especially when she was able to beat the help side defense to the spot. And her strength down low was complemented by her ability to get to her spot. As MP was trying to get back in the game, she attacked her matchup in isolation with a series of power dribbles and gave the defense work on the right block. She went to spin move, lefty hook for the and-one and asserted herself in the game. She delivered time and time again in this matchup and was a major reason Mineral Point escaped New Glarus with the victory. <strong>Josie Neubauer | Appleton East | Class of 2022 | Forward</strong> In the star-studded Appleton East starting line-up Neubauer’s instrumental contribution can slip through the cracks. Not at Prep Girls Hoops Wisconsin! Though Neubauer lacks the gaudy numbers of some of the other contributors to this list, she has a super high IQ and is the perfect safety valve in the Patriot offense. In their 20 point win over Neenah, she was often the calming presence as AE struggled through parts of the first half, catching errant passes, setting key back screens, and getting really good inside positioning. Call me an old-head but the way Neubauer screens for the Appleton East shooters is integral to their offensive play. Multiple times on Monday night, Neubauer was the one instructing [player_tooltip player_id="156073" first="Sammi" last="Beyer"] or [player_tooltip player_id="132371" first="Lily" last="Hansford"] to curl off of her pin-downs and back screens for an open look from beyond the arc. And while these screens are naturally meant for the shooters to get open, the attention they draw often leads to Newbauer creating a seam for herself to roll to the basket. It also creates a bunch of chaos on the weak side, and when the Patriots see an unorganized defense, they see food. Neubauer posted 8 points in the win, and while she wasn’t as flashy as some other prospects, she’s the glue that gives Appleton East the safety net that takes them to an even higher level. &nbsp;