Big 8 Roundup: Week 3 Best Unranked Defenders

Offense wins games, defense wins championships. The defenders listed in this article don't get the shine or glitz of some of their offensive counterparts, but their pride in playing incredible defense shines through in the final score of a game. Through three weeks of the high school basketball season, here are the best unranked defenders in the Big 8 conference: Nevaeh Harden -- Madison Memorial -- Class of 2023 -- Guard Harden’s speed gave Middleton trouble on both ends all game long, but particularly defensively. Matched up against one of the top scorers in the conference in [player_tooltip player_id="206581" first="Audrey" last="Deptula"], Harden’s suffocating on-ball defense shifted the tide of the game. Middleton opened the game on a 13-1 run and it was a combination of Harden’s defense and teammate Mclain Mahone’sf aggressiveness that made the game as close as it ended up being. What surprised me the most with Harden’s defensive performance was her ability to beat Deptula to the spot. With her slight frame, she was entirely reliant on foot quickness and end-to-end speed to get the job. Did I mention how fast she is? Not once did Deptula get a clean look when Harden was the primary defender despite her size advantage. Though Middleton escaped with a win, Harden’s defensive shiftiness (and that of her teammate below) is a major wrinkle that Memorial will be able to throw at opposing offenses. Ace Rodgers -- Madison Memorial -- Class of 2023 -- Guard Rodgers brought 80% of Harden’s quick-footedness against Deptula while being able to play a much more physical brand of defense. Her understanding of angles allowed her to turn an eight-inch height differential into a plus. Sneaking a hand to the midsection, blowing up a pick-and-roll, or just simply bodying up on drives created a dynamic 1-2 punch alongside Harden. Rodgers is the definition of a warrior defensively. The Middleton game is the best example of that because of the high profile nature of her assignment, but what I saw at that game was a symptom of her constant intensity, not an outlier. While Harden gets to the spot first using raw speed, Rodgers is a little more savvy. She gets lower than her assignment and bullies them to slow them down while still exercising impressive lateral quickness. Abbi Rupnow -- Verona -- Class of 2023 -- Guard Rupnow is one of the most purely chaotic defenders in the Big 8. She doesn’t have one facet of her defensive game that is outright elite but she manages to cover an incredible amount of ground at 5’4". Against both Sun Prairie and Jainesville-Crag -- two of the most offensively gifted teams in the conference -- her ability to defend the point of the attack, then recover to help double the post, and then follow it up by getting into the passing lanes stood out. And the passing lane is where Rupnow does her best work. A combo basketball player--lacrosse stud, her lax background shines through in her bullishness attacking passing windows. The combination of her anticipation, conditioning, and gutsiness defensively make her one of the most exciting players in the Big 8 on that end of the court. -Ellie Frisch -- Middleton -- Class of 2022 -- Wing Simply put, Frisch played the best defense of her life on the game-sealing possession for Middleton in their game against Madison Memorial. Matched up against the most dominant player in the game for Memorial, the aforementioned Mahone, Frisch didn’t let up. She stunted multiple drive attempts and didn’t sag off when Mahone tried to reset at the top of the arc. And when Mahone did create the slightest of separation, Frisch responded by adjusting her stance and forcing Mahone straight into a triple-team at the baseline. Result: turnover Memorial. Frisch may look slight of frame, but is sneakily the strongest on-ball defender Middleton has. Though most easily displayed when attacking the rim off a cut offensively, that strength forces opposing ball-handlers out of their rhythm. And while Middleton has two of the most versatile offensive players in the conference in [player_tooltip player_id="132378" first="McKenna" last="Monogue"] and Deptula, it’ll be the defensive contributions of the role players -- lead by Frisch -- that’ll help the Cards reach their fullest potential.