Watertown Holiday Shootout Day 1: Best Performers

It's holiday tournament season and one of the foremost events throughout the state is the Watertown Holiday Shootout. And while Day 1 only featured three games, there were hoopers putting in absolute shifts on both ends. Here are the best performers from opening night of the tourney: <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="209607" first="Lily" last="Oiler"] | Watertown| Class of 2024 | Guard | Unranked</strong> The class of 2024 guard paced Watertown in their namesake Shootout on Day 1. Oiler’s shiftiness caused problems along Mukwonago’s first line of defense, and once she got in the paint she wreaked havoc. She consistently demonstrated her fundamentally strong guard skills, and combined creativity with savviness on the ball to get easy looks. She showed a ton of touch around the hoop and patience beyond her years in the win. Her being able to break down her matchup was a reliable source of offense for the Warriors. And defensively, she did a masterful job spearheading Watertown’s 1-3-1 zone. Her length and positional awareness firmly placed a wrench in the Mukwonago offense, oftentimes leading to a stale and lifeless offense for the Indians. Her ability to create turnovers on that end of the court also suppressed Mukwonago’s ability to stage a comeback. A great opener for the sophomore. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="204152" first="Lily" last="Gifford"] | Watertown | Class of 2022 | Wing | Unranked</strong> Gilford was a two-way monster for Watertown. She shut down an entire side of the court, often disrupting passing lanes and neutralizing Mukwonago’s actions on the right side. Her length and anticipation created a ton of turnovers leading to Watertown winning the possession battle. And offensively she was the perfect safety net for a young Watertown squad. Her off-ball movement and ability to space the defense created attacking lanes for the young guns to manipulate. And as a secondary ball-handler, she was particularly useful on the rare occasion that Mukwonago was able to apply consistent pressure on the ball. Her activity level on both ends was sensational and provided the subtle motor to Watertown’s opening night win. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="209617" first="Kayl" last="Petersen"] | Waupun | Class of 2024 | Forward/Center | #6 Overall Prospect</strong> What a fun do-it-all player. Petersen played in almost every role offensively, and her length and positioning made her a presence defensively for the Warriors. On the scoring side of things, Petersen was a star in her usual role as an ideal big. She manufactured baskets for herself in the post--utilizing a finely tuned series of post fades, drop steps, and hooks--but kept the defense honest from the outside with the threat of her three-point shot. With so many versatile guards, the ability to shoot created the space that the guards needed to operate within the arc. And the passing. Good lord the passing. She has excellent vision and consistently slung bullets over the top of her defenders. Defensively, her versatility provided insurance around the cup. She has the length to tag her assignment and heavily cover the help-side without giving up too much ground, and when the ball got down low that meant she could flex her shot-blocking prowess. A do-it-all forward who impacted the game in every level in a Day 1 dub over Bonduel. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="209618" first="Gracie" last="Gopalan"] | Waupun | Class of 2024 | Point Guard | #85 Overall Prospect</strong> Gopalan was a wizard for Waupun in their opening day win over Bonduel. Her explosion to the rim and craftiness on the interior was emboldened by her ability to handle and create for others. On a team with a lot of mouths to feed Gopalan did an excellent job of playing within the flow of the offense, but at the same time being a reliable and legitimately high-level initiator of offense. She played fast but not sloppy, every pass and every drive had definite and lethal purpose. I really cannot emphasize how surprised she made the defense look with her ability to get to the rim. Her footwork allowed her to go to a more complex layup package that let her find the gap and split the defense for easy looks. All of that was complemented by her ability to exercise quick bursts of speed to blow by her initial defender. And on the other side, she demonstrated tenacity as a perimeter defender. Her intensity on the ball and positional awareness off it disrupted the natural flow of Bonduel’s offense. For a shortened lineup on a night where Waupun was experiencing some foul trouble, Gopalan put in an invaluable shift to usher the Warriors into the win column. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="262979" first="Allaina" last="Robaidek"] | Bonduel | Class of 2022 | Guard | #67 Overall Prospect</strong> Robaidek wasn’t <em>a </em>source of offense for Bonduel, she was <em>the </em>source for the Bears. And despite the constant attention she received from the Waupun defense she was still able to find ways to score. She added so many little movements to her attacking motions that caught the defense out of rhythm. Whether it be adding a side-step to a pull-up three, exaggerating how she rounds a side-screen to create more space, or shifting her driving angle to find a more comfortable way to get to the rim, Robaidek’s additional movements seemed to confuse the defense at times. That’s not to say that these additions were superfluous, they add to what was an extremely impressive showing on that side of the ball. She caught fire in the second half and though she rightfully dominated the ball, she found ways to manipulate the attention the defense gave her into good looks for others. In semi-transition, she routinely found the trailer or rim-runner for good looks -- though the success rate on said looks was not as high as Bonduel would have liked. Her handle amid intense pressure from [player_tooltip player_id="209618" first="Gracie" last="Gopalan"] on the other side was a facet of her game that complimented her unconventional shot creation. A really unique player who put in a great shift despite the loss. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="329558" first="Kailey" last="Wozniak"] | Pius XI Catholic | Class of 2023 | Guard/Wing | Unranked</strong> Wozniak was on one from the opening tip in Pius’s win over Bay Port. She scored 12 of the Popes’ first 14 and 18 of their first 28 with high-level efficiency to get to those marks. She was extremely effective as a stalwart in Pius’ half-court trap, creating turnovers and exploding to the other end for easy twos and free throw opportunities. And when she wasn’t the one leading the break, she was rim running and finishing, at times bullying her way through contact. When the game slowed down for the Popes, Wozniak showed how she can be a threat as a shooter and a cutter. Feasting off of the immaculate passing ability of [player_tooltip player_id="155453" first="Mya" last="Moore"], Wozniak punished the Bay Port soft 2-3 with a series of three-point bombs. She looked like Pius’ most dynamic threat on that side of the court, finding a balance between taking what the defense gives her and initiating scoring opportunities for herself. The combination of defensive intensity the second the ball hit the timeline and efficiency offensively made her the best performer of the day. She demonstrated an assertiveness on both ends that constructed the foundation for Pius’ win. &nbsp;