Team Takeaways From Opening Week

Brady Peterson November 18, 2023 @ 08:26 AM

There are still a handful of games left from the opening week, but I wanted to get a headstart highlighting some takeaways from the opening week. I'll post articles about some takeaways on the team and player sides of things today.   New Glarus is still among the favorites in D4.   After some seniors graduated, like Alex Atwell, that void had to be filled. Although the Glarner Knights don't have another kid like Atwell, they've made do with what they have and earned a couple of good wins in the first week of the season, beating a talented D5 Barneveld team and a Platteville team that pushed Aquinas to the brink earlier in the week. [player_tooltip player_id='209591' first='Lindsey' last='Schadewalt'] is the engine of this New Glarus group, and they'll go as far as she takes them, but they have gotten solid contributions from the rest of the rotation this week.   Watertown's early statement win.   Having your first game of the year be on the road against a team with legitimate aspirations of getting to the Resch Center, Monona Grove, isn't an ideal start, especially when you go down double digits early. However, Watertown weathered the early storm from the Silver Eagles and slowly began to chip away at the lead. Their 1-3-1 defense slowed down the Monona Grove offense, which only scored around 35 points after the initial run. The Goslings have an experienced group who's been battle-tested in the Badger Conference in its many forms and have a group that will frustrate some of the top teams in the Badger-Large.   Kettle Moraine's athleticism.   Losing key figures like Braelyn Torres and Grace Grocholski, two kids playing scholarship basketball, naturally creates uncertainty over how they'll line up. Although they opened the year against a New Berlin West team that wasn't at full strength, I thought they showed what they could be at their best. [player_tooltip player_id='602360' first='Keegan' last='Lodes'] created mismatches all over the floor with her size and athleticism. [player_tooltip player_id='338955' first='Lola' last='Bond'], who we'll talk more about later today, put pressure on the Viking defense all night and created open looks for her teammates. [player_tooltip player_id='767268' first='Emily' last='Gomez'] got into foul trouble early, but when she was on the floor, she got to the rim at will and showed some of her power to finish around 6-footers around the basket. Everyone who touched the court in New Berlin for the Lasers played well, which the final score reflected. Also, the Lasers weren't even at full strength, with Claire Vosberg out for the opener.   Oostburg's resilience   I believe most people knew how dangerous Oostburg was offensively, but I was impressed with how composed they were against Laconia. The Dutch got punched in the mouth right out the gate, and you could tell they were frustrated. Last season, I would've thought the early Laconia lead would grow and would run away with it. However, after the Spartan's early barrage, the Dutch counterpunch was more fierce than what Laconia brought to open the game. After an [player_tooltip player_id='533060' first='Ady' last='Ketterhagen'] walk-up three-pointer, the whole vibe of the game changed. It felt like every Oostburg player took a deep breath and went to work. [player_tooltip player_id='533061' first='Riley' last='Ketterhagen'] did an excellent job attacking the basket, drawing fouls, and getting the Dutch into the bonus early. However, the biggest surprise was the two posts the Dutch put out there. Jenna Sorens and Brynn Wisse were dominant on the boards and cleared the lines whenever Laconia missed a shot. The iteration of the Dutch we see now is more balanced than any other we've seen, which makes them dangerous come February and March.

There are still a handful of games left from the opening week, but I wanted to get a headstart highlighting some takeaways from the opening week. I'll post articles about some takeaways on the team and player sides of things today.