Big 8 Week 3 Team of the Week

Following the Thanksgiving break which featured the Kettle Moraine Thanksgiving Showcase, the Big 8 returned with a full slate of games. And with everyone’s sealegs under them after a few games played, the studs showed out. Here is your Week 3 Big 8 Team of the Week: Guard: [player_tooltip player_id="206576" first="Ellie" last="Magestro-Kennedy"] -- Janesville-Craig -- Class of 2023 -- #11 Overall Recruit EMK coming back to the JC line-up transforms them from high-end conference team to conference contender. And she wasted no time getting to work and putting up monster performances. In Craig’s first game of the week against Madison West, her explosiveness and shot-creation were overwhelming. She was two steps ahead of the West defense at all times. Her ability to casually blow by defenders and read the defense in real-time creates open opportunities for herself and others. Accompanied with elite pull-up shooting, Magestro-Kennedy is as good a scorer the conference has to offer. And she proved it one more time against Verona, one of the best teams in Division 1 with a much more formidable defense. 28 points and 6 steals and she got them anyway the defense let her. When the defense sagged, she flaunted range up to 24 feet with a combination of pull-ups and catch-and-shoot threes. When they pressed, her speed overwhelmed perimeter defenders. And though she’s one of the best in the state in terms of creating for herself in isolation, her pick-and-roll with [player_tooltip player_id="209609" first="Mya" last="Nicholson"] wreaked havoc. The conference is better now that she’s back. Guard: [player_tooltip player_id="204147" first="Malia" last="Green"] -- La Follette -- Class of 2022 -- #59 Overall Recruit Green had a sensational week on the hardwood. La Follette outscored their opposition by <em>36 points a game </em>against Madison East and Beloit Memorial, and Green’s perimeter presence was a big reason why. She followed up a career-high 25 points against East by beating that number against Beloit. She finished with 26 in the latter performance and shot lights out from beyond the arc, finishing with four threes on five attempts. On the week, she wracked up shooting splits of 64%--82%--75%. Ridiculous efficiency at volume for the senior standout. What impressed me most about Green’s performances was the quickness with which she made decisions offensively. Like a supercomputer analyzing the court, Green seemed to take mental pictures of the defense and efficiently attack the weakest spot. This isn’t to say that she was rushing. She simply knew how to manipulate the defense in ways that resulted in easy baskets for La Follette. Whether that be through combining quick spins with hesitations and sudden bursts of speed to throw the defense off-balance, or using her gravity as a shooter to open up driving lanes, or knocking one down from the perimeter herself, Green’s game this week was on a whole other level. Forward: [player_tooltip player_id="132387" first="McClain" last="Mahone"] -- Madison Memorial -- Class of 2022 -- #62 Overall Recruit Mahone’s offensive balance gave defenses fits this week. Against Janesville-Parker, she displayed comfort shooting from multiple spots along the perimeter and opened up the floor for Madison Memorial’s slashers and cutters to attack the basket. She tortured JP’s 3-2 zone and showcased a new wrinkle to what is already a very sound offensive game. And against Middleton, she appeared to be the most dominant player on the court. After Memorial got off to a slow start, it was Mahone’s ability to shift direction on a dime and attack the basket with force that gave life to the Spartans offense. With no one to stop her at the rim, Mahone feasted on dribble-drives. And while her aggressiveness was impressive, her improved handle was what stood out the most. Though she’d be a handful to deal with without a tight dribble, the ability to get a defender out of position and attack the basket from a variety of angles takes her to another level. Memorial would have been lost offensively against Middleton without her presence. Forward: [player_tooltip player_id="132378" first="McKenna" last="Monogue"] -- Middleton -- Class of 2022 -- #21 Overall Recruit Last season, Monogue struggled to create her own offense, often relying on catch-and-shoot threes to apply pressure on a defense. Her game has evolved as much as any other player in the conference. While still flexing one of the most deadly outside shots in the league, with range extending as far as 25-27 feet, her post-game has come alive. When Middleton runs pick-and-roll with Monogue, she immediately seals off her defender and makes herself available in the post. When she does this, the options are either to double her or give up a bucket. Against Madison Memorial, she played every last second and the Cardinals needed her to. She showed ambidexterity at the rim, great footwork on either block, and patience offensively. On a night where [player_tooltip player_id="206581" first="Audrey" last="Deptula"] struggled hitting shots, Monogue showed why she would be the number one option on a lot of other teams in the state. The next step for her is something she flashed in both games this week and that’s the ability to create off the dribble. Her power-dribble-into-a-half-spin scoop-shot is deadly, and a great sign moving forward for her development. Center: [player_tooltip player_id="342098" first="Makiah" last="Hawk"] -- Sun Prairie -- Class of 2024 -- #49 Overall Recruit While the rest of the players on this list put up gaudy numbers, Hawk had to be featured in the TOTW for her defensive impact. Against Verona, she shut down the #34 recruit in the class of 2023, [player_tooltip player_id="206577" first="Paige" last="Lambe"], and made life hell in the paint for the Wildcats. She finished with 5 blocks in that one and while the scoring numbers don’t jump off the box score, she was among the most impactful players on the court. Her defensive instincts to shift over as the help-side defender are the best in the conference, and her on-ball defense in the post was near-flawless. In SP’s second game of the week, she was equally as dominant. Madison East had no solutions to Hawk’s patrol in the paint. Against Verona, Hawk had to constantly keep an eye out for Lambe. East had no such player and Hawk was able to roam more freely around the rim. Her ability to lock down the restricted area is instrumental to Sun Prairie’s scorching hot start.