POLL: Who was the Top Performer in the Sectional Finals
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The final poll conducted before the postseason will be deciding who shined the most in the sectional finals over this weekend. I have five options for you all to vote and decide on before the poll closes Wednesday at noon.
Emily La Chapell Emily La Chapell 5'11" | CG Appleton East | 2022 State #57 Nation WI -6’0 G/F-’22-Appleton East (Marquette commit)
Appleton East handled No. 4 seeded Neenah in the sectional final. LaChapell, like she has all season, led the Patriots and made winning plays all afternoon. Whenever Neenah seemed poised to make a run, the future Golden Eagle always found a way to get an easy basket to keep the lead around double digits. She finished the game with 23 points, three 3’s, and made 10 shots from the field. The versatility that LaChapell possesses will be tough to handle for any of the three other teams heading to Green Bay in Division 1.
Lily Randgaard Lily Randgaard 5'9" | CG Kettle Moraine | 2022 State WI -5’10 G-’22-Kettle Moraine (Western Illinois commit)
The Kettle Moraine senior seemed to come up with a big basket when the Lazers have needed it all season. The future Leatherneck scored a game-high 20 points in the Lazers’ dominant 57-28 win over Oak Creek. Randgaard is a do-it-all wing who can attack the paint, play in the mid-range area, and make 25-foot 3’s. Keep an eye on her in Green Bay.
Carly Drew Carly Drew 5'8" | CG Westfield | 2024 State WI -5’8 G-’24-Westfield
I don’t have any numbers for Drew in Westfield’s 41-38 win over Bonduel, and I don’t need them. With less than three seconds left in their sectional final, Drew made a stepback 35-foot 3-pointer to send the Pioneers to Green Bay. I don’t think I’ve seen a game-winner quite like what Drew pulled off in my life.
Haven’t seen @carly_drew15‘s game-winner on Twitter yet, so figured I’d bless the tl with one of the wildest game-winning shots I’ve ever seen. Didn’t even bother hitting the rim… pic.twitter.com/k00DiAoB0t
— Brady Peterson🇵🇷🇺🇦 (@brady300021) March 6, 2022
Jorey Buwalda Jorey Buwalda 6'0" | PF Randolph | 2023 State WI -6’0 F-’23-Randolph
The Rocket forward continued her thrashing of Division 5 competition on Saturday. In Randolph’s 43-31 win over Albany, Buwalda scored 19, grabbed 12 rebounds, earned two steals, and recorded a block. Beating Randolph will be a challenge because there isn’t a great defensive matchup for any team in D5 that they can throw at Buwalda. If teams overhelp on Buwalda, she’s capable of finding open teammates.
Claire Bjorge Claire Bjorge 5'8" | CG De Pere | 2024 State WI -5’8 G-’24-De Pere
Although I’m listing Bjorge here, she’s a placeholder for De Pere as a whole. Bjorge’s play was night and day from the Redbirds’ early-season matchup with Germantown. The turnovers that the Redbirds had in Kettle Moraine in November were nonexistent in Sheboygan on Saturday, and a lot of that is because of Bjorge. Whenever Bjorge had the ball, she looked confident and knew what she wanted to do with it in the halfcourt and transition. Although Bjorge had an impressive freshman season, and she’s had an excellent sophomore season, her 19 points, seven assists, and five rebound performance felt like she’s arrived. I can’t wait to see what she does in Green Bay and what she has in store for her final two seasons as a Redbird. I could’ve mentioned Jordan Meulemans Jordan Meulemans 5'10" | CG De Pere | 2022 State WI with 22 points. I could have named Avery Bierowski’s 10 points and 12 rebounds double-double or senior McKenna Ciesielczyk’s 11 points and five rebounds. It was a team win by the Redbirds, and they fully deserve their ticket to Green Bay this week.