Hidden Gems With Big Games in the First Week of the Season

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Now that the season is underway and over 400 teams are playing games, some kids come out of nowhere and have big games. Today, I'd like to talk about some kids who've had big games early in the season and give some hidden gems some shine.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Mia Ott</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Merill Bluejay has begun her junior season on an absolute heater. After three games, Ott is averaging 29 points per game and doing it with good shooting splits of 46/38/70. It's unlikely she'll keep that 29-point average, but regardless, she's made a name for herself early this season, and I'll keep tabs on her the rest of this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='520311' first='Lilly' last='Radcliffe']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Melrose-Mindoro guard's name popped up a few times late in the summer, and I saw her at the Top 250 Expo in Appleton, and she does things that coaches love in guards. For example, she's one of the best screen navigators in the state. When she comes off ball screens, Radcliffe can do anything she wants. The senior will knock down 3s, get into the mid-range, flip up floaters, or get downhill and get to the basket. She's got a game of 36 and one of 21 already.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Brittany Bergman</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Part of scoring as a wing/forward is getting into threatening positions, and Bergman does just that. In the first game of Augusta's season, she recorded a 24-point, 13-rebound double-double. She chases rebounds out of her area and creates extra possessions for her Augusta team, which helps everyone wearing Augusta jerseys.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Ava Lamers</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I watched the Rhinelander and Rice Lake game for some of the kids on Warriors, and Lamers went absolutely bananas. In that overtime loss for the Hodags, Lamers knocked down six 3-pointers and finished with 42 of her team's 73 points. Her impact in that game could not be understated. Lamers was the best player on the floor that night and punished the Warriors every time they made even the most minute mistake.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Coryn Fromm</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah's opening night loss to Living Word Lutheran, Fromm poured in 33 points for the Resorters. The junior had a solid summer playing up with Purple Aces last summer and seems to have carried that into the regular season. Although the Resorters have dropped their first two games, the dup of Fromm and [player_tooltip player_id='352205' first='Katherine' last='Miller'] is an intimidating duo in D5.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Alexis Pronchinske</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Cochrane-Fountain City had herself a night against Arcadia on Tuesday. The 5-foot-8 guard recorded 33 points and nine rebounds. The Pirate led all scorers in a win on the road at Arcadia. Her nine rebounds also led her team. D5 kids tend to contribute in all aspects to help their teams win games, and that's what Pronchinske did on Tuesday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->