Badger-West Conference Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The year I first started writing about basketball in Wisconsin, I wrote a short preview of each conference, and today we're starting that again. We're going through these conferences alphabetically. We're starting in the Madison Area with the new-look Badger East and West. Now, let's take a look at the West.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":1} --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Badger-West</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Edgewood</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Crusaders may have the best lead guard pairing this season with senior [player_tooltip player_id='209589' first='Taya' last='Fernandez'] and newcomer [player_tooltip player_id='764918' first='Anna' last='Miller']. Those two are outstanding with the ball in their hands, and Miller could be the next elite guard out of the Madison area, which says a lot considering some of the kids who've come through the Badger and Big 8. [player_tooltip player_id='995775' first='Maren' last='Schmotzer'] is the x-factor of this group. Her 6-2 size and mobility on the defensive end and the glass will determine how far this team can go in February and March.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Reedsburg</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>At times last season Reedsburg was the fighting [player_tooltip player_id='209900' first='Sydney' last='Cherney']'s, and that could be the case this season. I expect improvements from around the program in kids like Naomi Benish and Addie Meister, but the focus will always be on the Grand Valley State commit. Looking back on what Cherney accomplished with the offensive burden she carried was nothing short of herculean, and at times she was unguardable. She got to the line at will, and I'd say there's no way she could repeat what she did a season ago, but I'd also have said there's no way she could lead her group to 20 wins last year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sauk Prairie</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Losing a D1-caliber senior is never easy, but the Eagles have some tools heading into the 2023-24 campaign. Rising senior McKayla Paukner is a physical lead guard who isn't afraid of contact and had some excellent games, especially in wins at home against Edgewood and on the road against Oregon. The Eagles also have rising seniors Ava Andres and Erleyn Apel back for this season, who played significant roles last season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Baraboo</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Thunders lose All-Conference performer Taylor Pfaff to graduation and about half of the kids who played consistent minutes a year ago, but they get back half of those kids if you're not a glass-half-empty person. One thing that I appreciate about the Thunderbird program is its identity. Every Baraboo team is a tough group that will play a physical brand of basketball and look to create as many extra possessions as possible. Baraboo finished in the top half in the Badger-West last season, and if all else fails, they'll still find themselves near the top of that stat.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Stoughton</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Vikings were an intriguing group to follow a season ago. Although Stoughton entered the postseason with a 9-15 record, they were a whisker away from knocking off eventual Sectional Champions McFarland but fell 71-66 on the road. The loss of All-Conference guard Maddie Reott will hurt in games where they need someone to create with the ball in their hands, but it's not all doom and gloom in Stoughton. Junior [player_tooltip player_id='401056' first='Ella' last='Hamacher'] finished the year on a high note, scoring 15 and grabbing seven rebounds in the final game of Stoughton's season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Mount Horeb</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Vikings have an equal-opportunity offense and play numerous kids in their rotation. Their leading scorer, Ella Fager, was at 8.4 points per contest. Mount Horeb loses two kids, one being Myesha Thompson, who ended the season as their second-leading scorer. However, keep an eye on newcomer [player_tooltip player_id='915005' first='Courtney' last='Monroe'] to get significant minutes early if she has a solid preseason.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>McFarland</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In what was essentially a trade, Monroe exits the Badger to head to the Rock Valley, with McFarland going the other way. Now that the Spartans enter the fold, everyone will attempt to decide what to do defensively against Iowa commit [player_tooltip player_id='209586' first='Teagan' last='Mallegni']. There is some uncertainty over what the rest of the roster will look like in November. That said, with kids like [player_tooltip player_id='337014' first='Ava' last='Dean'], who had an outstanding state semifinal against Notre Dame, and others back, the Spartans are favorites immediately.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Portage</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After a rough season a year ago, Portage is still a program looking to improve year over year and has to continue building from the ground up.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>My Predictions</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list {"ordered":true} --> <ol><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>McFarland</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Edgewood</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Reedsburg</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Sauk Prairie</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Stoughton</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Baraboo</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Mount Horeb</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Portage</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ol> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->