State of D4 WIAA Basketball: 30 Days In

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We're about 30 days into the regular season, and it's time we take a day and dissect the state of the D1-D2 and D3-D5 heading into the holidays. We'll highlight some standouts, surprises, significant games, and things to watch as we head into the holiday season. We're starting with large schools today and closing with small schools tomorrow and Saturday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Standout Performers</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Some teams in Division 4 have one or two kids who set themselves apart, but overall, we see turnover yearly. However, this year, we have most of the stars last year back.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='209591' first='Lindsey' last='Schadewalt'], [player_tooltip player_id='342096' first='Tierney' last='Madigan'], [player_tooltip player_id='374228' first='JJ' last='Glass-Barnes'], [player_tooltip player_id='374234' first='Olivia' last='Olson'], [player_tooltip player_id='337021' first='Lindsey' last='Nell'], [player_tooltip player_id='209906' first='Carly' last='Drew'], [player_tooltip player_id='374230' first='Addy' last='Verhagen'], and more from McDonell Central, who got bumped up this year, are all back and will battle it out for a gold ball. Everywhere in the state, you'll find kids who play at a high level for small school basketball. In Southwestern Wisconsin, [player_tooltip player_id='780381' first='Erin' last='Knowles'] has been an under-the-radar kid, [player_tooltip player_id='780363' first='Paris' last='Opelt'] in Northwestern Wisconsin, Jasmin Heue in Northwestern Wisconsin, [player_tooltip player_id='448256' first='Emily' last='Vogel'] and Addyson Viestenz in the Fox Valley, and Frankie McLain in Southeast Wisconsin.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The Cream is still at the Top</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Racine Prairie and Laconia are still in the top tier D4 alone. They have the most high-level players. Laconia goes nine or more players deep, and the Hawks have the best player in D4. They played in a competitive Sectional Final last season. The Spartans bested the Hawks this year at Kettle Moraine without [player_tooltip player_id='338967' first='Meg' last='Decker'], but you could tell there was plenty of emotion in that game. I don't see them not playing each other on March 11th, but crazier things have happened.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Who's Been the Biggest Surprise?</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fall Creek's been a part of the furniture in the second week of the postseason, but they could take a step forward. Becca Sturz and [player_tooltip player_id='491719' first='Jasmin' last='Heuer'] are two solid pieces in a rotation that can make things happen. Both of them are competitive and athletic. The Crickets will likely have to go through a Conference foe to get to state in McDonell, but they played well against the Macks in the second game last year and have some confidence building after knocking off Neillsville a week ago.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->