WIAA State Tournament Preview: Division One

Now that we have the fields set for the state semifinals and everyone's seeded, we're previewing each team that will play at the Resch Center. We'll start with the big schools in Division 1 today and highlight what you should expect to see from them in the semifinals and beyond if they reach the title game.   Brookfield East   The Spartans are one of, if not the, best defensive units in the state. They're led on the end of the floor by junior [player_tooltip player_id='266987' first='Shae' last='Kelley'], who had an outstanding defensive performance at the Resch Center a year ago against Appleton East. The Spartans' offense gets run through senior and future Maryville Saint [player_tooltip player_id='156077' first='Annika' last='Pluemer'], who's scored efficiently at all three levels. Pluemer is the Spartans' all-time leading scorer and has experience playing in Green Bay. The x-factor will be freshman [player_tooltip player_id='497476' first='Maya' last='Kovacic']. She took the third-guard role by the horns. She can create her shot and is quick off the bounce. All three of those guards can defend one-on-one on the perimeter. What truly makes the Spartans an elite defensive unit is the protection these talented defensive guards have behind them in 6-foot-2 future West Virginia Mountaineer volleyball player Maddy McGath. Even in situations where the guards get beat, in man-to-man or in a 2-3 zone, they always have rim protection on the backside.    Hortonville   After a grueling season in the Fox Valley Association, the Polar Bears had to beat arguably the best team in the state, Neenah, to get here, and that's what they did. Hortonville will be without a talented wing in [player_tooltip player_id='209902' first='Kallie' last='Peppler'] after her knee injury. However, the rest of the Polar Bears have the talent to lift a gold ball this weekend. Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='374227' first='Rainey' last='Welson'] showed what she's about when she scored 41 points to send the Polar Bears past Neenah, and Welson is one of the most explosive scorers we have in the state, and if she gets going, there isn't much a defense can do to slow her down. I love their pieces around Welson as well. Lynn commit [player_tooltip player_id='206727' first='Trinity' last='Mocadlo'] takes pride in defending the other team's best wing and not backing down from any challenge. 6-foot-1 forward [player_tooltip player_id='266988' first='MiKayla' last='Werner'] is one of my favorite 2024s to watch because of how much she can affect a game without scoring. Even senior guard [player_tooltip player_id='421314' first='Kyra' last='Funk'] can provide spacing for her teammates to attack the basket because of her ability to shoot from well beyond the 3-point line. It feels like this run should've happened last year for them, but this team could right the wrongs that occurred in the sectional semifinals against Neenah a year ago.   Kettle Moraine   After capturing the state title last year in dominating fashion, Kettle Moraine emerged from their sectional again by crushing the competition. This group is led again by future West Virginia Mountaineer [player_tooltip player_id='156050' first='Grace' last='Grocholski'], and she had the most impressive game last year at state. The then-junior scored 34 points and grabbed nine rebounds to give the Lasers a dominant win in the D1 state title game against Appleton East. Their point guard is another talented kid in [player_tooltip player_id='156076' first='Braelyn' last='Torres']. Torres has been one of the best defensive guards in southeast Wisconsin, and she displayed that at the Resch Center a year ago. The "others" for the Lasers can all shoot the ball and defend talented wings. [player_tooltip player_id='602360' first='Keegan' last='Lodes'], Maddie Schopf, and [player_tooltip player_id='338955' first='Lola' last='Bond'] are all capable players who won't get the plaudits of Grocholski and Torres, but if the Lasers make a run, it will be because those players stepped up in big moments.   Germantown   Everyone knows that [player_tooltip player_id='155940' first='KK' last='Arnold'] is one of, if not the, best players this state has produced in a long time. Wherever you fall on that, opinion is up to you, but we all know she can do whatever she wants on the floor. The Warhawks will give every defense they play against a steady dose of Arnold, and the future UCONN Husky's built to handle that pressure for 36 minutes. She'll score 20 or more points and get her teammates open shots. Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='448252' first='Danica' last='Gosz'] will be critical for the Warhawks because she can shoot teams out of zones if she gets into pockets of space, as she did against Fond du Lac. Junior [player_tooltip player_id='444780' first='Lucy' last='Leininger'] is another integral piece for the Warhawks' defense. She can defend all five positions and has the length to alter shots around the rim. The other players to watch are [player_tooltip player_id='558941' first='Jaycee' last='Mani'], who can make shots and is one of the more hard-nosed guards in southeast Wisconsin, and Rachel Murphy does all the little things that don't show up in box scores but lead to her team winning games.

Now that we have the fields set for the state semifinals and everyone's seeded, we're previewing each team that will play at the Resch Center. We'll start with the big schools in Division 1 today and highlight what you should expect to see from them in the semifinals and beyond if they reach the title game.