Big 8 Week 4 Team of the Week
Another week went by in the Big 8 and the conference is a clustered as ever, both in terms of evaluating the best players and the best teams. With so much talent in the Madison area, narrowing the list down to five players is always a challenge, but these hoopers stepped up. Their two-way presences were keys to their teams’ success this week and something to keep an eye on for the future. Here’s the Big 8 Week 4 Team of the Week:
G: Anna Nielsen Anna Nielsen 5'10" | CG Verona Area | 2022 State WI | Verona | Class of 2022 | #98 Overall Prospect
Nielsen enjoyed her best two-way performances of the season against Janesville-Parker (a 106-11 win for Verona) and Middleton (61-34 Verona). The combo guard demonstrated incredible versatility on both ends of the court, aggressively locking up her matchup on defense while remaining efficient offensively. And while her skillset was on display against lowly JP, her two-way performance against Middleton skyrocketed her to the top of the team of the week. Matched up against Loyola-Chicago commit Audrey Deptula Audrey Deptula 6'0" | CG Middleton | 2023 State WI , Nielsen’s defense reached another level. While she was always a good enough athlete to top-lock and fight over screens, the next step for Nielsen was always going to be using her length to match up against the conference’s elite wing players.
She nearly pitched a shutout against Deptula doing just that. She faceguarded AD all night, applying intense pressure from the second she touched the ball all the while attacking the paint and nailing her threes on the other end. She finished with 17 against Middleton but her two-way stardom put her on the map in Week 4.
G: Kate Huml Kate Huml 5'7" | CG Janesville Craig | 2022 State WI | Janesville-Craig | Class of 2022 | #40 Overall Prospect
I wrote more about Huml’s performance here, but it’s worth reiterating. Huml had the best performance against the best team this past week in Janesville-Craig’s upset against Sun Prairie. 25 of the most important points you’ll see all season on some of the most impressive shooting you’ve seen all season. Huml showed off every move of hers that makes her one of the most dangerous scorers in the conference — and the conference’s best shooter. Her ability to relocate multiple times throughout a possession makes her extremely valuable off the ball while her creation for others using her gravity as a shooter makes her doubly valuable on the ball. Not to mention her defense against Sun Prairie’s primary perimeter players. Huml’s had big performances already this season offensively and was a lock for TOTW after knocking off the Card’s, but her speed and lateral quickness on the defensive end put her over the top. Once again, I go further in-depth here,
G: Malia Green Malia Green 5'7" | SG Madison La Follette | 2022 State WI | La Follette | Class of 2022 | #59 Overall Prospect
Green has become the best version of herself these past two weeks. An elite two-way guard presence whose efficiency makes her a viable first option or the perfect complimentary player. As a primary ball-handler, Green ushered in La Follete’s base offense extremely well against the pesky on-ball defenders of Madison Memorial, showing off her veteran leadership while helping Alayna West and Demetria Prewitt Demetria Prewitt 5'7" | PG Madison La Follette | 2022 State WI get to their spots. But where she really dominated this week as an offensive player was as an off-ball scorer who stretched the defense. She hit a trifecta of trios against Memorial and splashed in two more against Madison West. She scored 32 points this week on 22 shots and only missed one free throw. Her ability to get to the line against West was an interesting wrinkle that will be key in La Follette’s attempt to break free from what is a muddled Big 8.
Defensively, she’s everywhere. One of the most fun defenders to watch press the basketball, her ability to engulf smaller guards is a key source of easy transition buckets for the Lancers. 9 steals in two games on the week and the combination of on-ball pressure and aggressiveness in the passing lane should have guard combos across the conference on notice. Green has been La Follette’s most consistent player through the early going of the season and she’ll look to continue that aggression in a tough matchup against Verona in Week 5.
G: Demetria Prewitt Demetria Prewitt 5'7" | PG Madison La Follette | 2022 State WI | La Follette | Class of 2022 | #15 Overall Prospect
Speaking of defensive dominance, Prewitt made her case for best on-ball defender in the conference this week for the Lancers. 11 steals in two games including 8 cookies against Madison West put her on the radar statistically, but those numbers are just a symptom of the time of savviness, athleticism, and discipline that Prewitt’s been working with all season long. She has the potential to be an apex predator on that end of the floor because of all the aforementioned traits and her uncanny ability to read the progression of opposing offenses. Against a really solid Memorial team, she positioned herself in a way that at times would shut down an entire wing. Prewitt is one of the conference’s premier talents and her progression defensively has been particularly noteworthy a month into the season.
Offensively, Prewitt is one of the best in the business at initiating her own contact in driving to the rim. She’s among the most fouled players in the conference and that’s mainly because her handle and explosion are pretty unstoppable when she finds a rhythm. At 5’11”, her size as a combo guard bothered Memorial and West; she feasted on both teams’ lack of size. Her sweep-to-the-right-hesitation move has become a staple of the Lancers offense and a move that Prewitt keeps sharpening. She averaged 16.5 points on the week all from twos and free throws. And when you’re as talented as she is–supplemented with her refined interior footwork and touch at the rim–that’ll get you through a lot of games. Her next step as a primary ball-handler is to extend her range even to 17 feet. Forcing the defense to respect her outside shot consistently could make Prewitt go supernova on the Big 8.
F: Bre’Nazjah Davis | Beloit Memorial | Class of 2022 | Unranked
A one-game week for Beloit Memorial but Bre Davis made it count. Madison East had no answers for her in the Purple Knight’s 57-49 win. A dominant 16 point 23 rebound outing firmly planted her on the Team of the Week and it was her quickness that really overwhelmed East. At 6’1″ Davis is already tough to box out, but when she hits defenders with swim-overs to get inside positioning on the offensive glass, it’s over for the defense. Her quickness and fight to get to every 50/50 rebound while reacting to the would-be rim protectors to find the space for putbacks was extremely impressive. She is such a fundamentally sound player–keeps the ball above her head, pivots swiftly off the inside foot, finishes high on the glass–that her physicality made her unguardable for Beloit in their win.
Defensively, Davis’s impact could never be calculated on the box score. Though she technically finished with but 2 blocks, she altered an immeasurable amount of layup attempts while keeping her hands active against post-players. Not to mention her 14 defensive rebounds closed out possessions and were key in Beloit cleaning up on both ends of the court after finding themselves behind early. One of the most dominant performances by a center so far this season in the Big 8.