Standouts on Unexpected Elite Teams

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Some teams have been better than most have expected this season, and some players had big performances in games where their teams have needed it. I want to highlight some kids who've been excellent to start the season and helped their teams succeed early this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='209600' first='Jayla' last='Rankin']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There aren't many better tough-shot makers than Rankin. The Wisconsin Lutheran junior has a tight handle on the ball, powers through contact at the rim, and is consistent in what she does. Whether it's in AAU or high school Rankin does the same things. She beats her defender off the dribble to pass to teammates or layups and creates space for jumpers. Rankin has undoubtedly been one of the best guards in the state thus far this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='266982' first='Lila' last='Posthuma']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Some kids sneak past people for different reasons, and with Posthuma, I understand. She plays in the Middle Border, away from most people in Wisconsin, and plays AAU ball in Minnesota. However, the six-foot wing has quietly been one of the more effective kids in the state this season. Here are some of her stat lines this season; at Somerset, 34 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, and three steals. At New Richmond 14 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists. At Altoona 11 points, seven rebounds, and five assists. If you don't get the picture, she does a little bit of everything, and she's a kid who thrives off her teammates' success. If Posthuma wanted, she could score 25 points every night, but that's not who she is. She's an accomplished and willing passer, don't sleep on her.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='367058' first='Ashlyn' last='Knapp']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Oshkosh commit returned to PDC after a disappointing regional title game loss last season and lost one of the best players in the state to graduation. However, that hasn't seemed to affect Knapp in the slightest. She's stepped into a more prominent scoring role and has continued to shoot the ball at a high level. Although to get to the state, they'd have to go through Waupun, which would be a big ask of them, Knapp has made this group a clear contender for a spot in the second weekend of the playoffs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='209591' first='Lindsey' last='Schadewalt']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Last season, New Glarus was this cinderella team who nearly got to the state tournament as a five-seed and would've had to play one more game to get there than any other non-D5 state qualifier. This season, the Glarner Knights have smacked everyone they've played thus far and have an 8-0 record, and according to the RPI rankings, the Glarner Knights were the No. 1 team in D4 going into this week. Schadewalt has been key to this because of how elite of a scorer she is. Others like Alex Atwell stepped up, but what Schadewalt is doing is bananas. Her shooting splits are 56/50/68 in eight games. I know she'll nit-pick her free-throw percentage, but her shot-making ability is next level, and in two-plus seasons, nobody has figured out how to slow her down. The scary part is she keeps getting better.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->