Underclassmen With Standout Performances This Season

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As the year goes on, plenty of kids play well at games I attend or watch via stream. Today, I want to talk about some of those performances.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='813295' first='Jenna' last='Ott']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One kid that surprised me was Appleton East's sophomore wing. In an absolute shootout against Menomonee Falls, Ott hit back-to-back massive threes when each team had 61 and then again when tied at 64. The second of those threes came off a side-pick-and-roll that she went over with her left hand and pulled a three from about four feet behind the three-point line. Having a wing with length like Ott balances the Patriots' offense and defense, and knowing she can make that kind of high-leverage shot will be valuable in February and March.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='751248' first='Beth' last='Langebartels']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Vikings have plenty of young talent, and at the start of the season, Langebartles came off the bench and made an impact in the Janesville Craig game, which they won handily, and the Germantown game, which was competitive throughout. She plays with energy and attacks the boards better than their starters did, which meant the Vikings got more second-chance points with her on the floor than they did without. Over the next few years, once she matures as a player, we'll discuss her as one of the more talented wings in the Woodland-West.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='764914' first='Finley' last='Morgan']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Laconia had seven or eight kids back this season that they probably trust to play significant minutes if needed. Although they have kids like [player_tooltip player_id='375953' first='Aubrey' last='Leonard'] and [player_tooltip player_id='342096' first='Tierney' last='Madigan'], [player_tooltip player_id='764914' first='Finley' last='Morgan'] has more juice off the dribble than either Leonard or Madigan. Those two are skilled and successful high school players, but Morgan has a level of quickness that I don't think many guards in Wisconsin have. Whenever I've watched Morgan, she's beaten her defender off the dribble whenever she's wanted, partly because most teams don't have enough defensive resources to throw four excellent perimeter defenders at [player_tooltip player_id='448258' first='Payton' last='Morgan']-Finely Morgan-[player_tooltip player_id='375953' first='Aubrey' last='Leonard']-[player_tooltip player_id='342096' first='Tierney' last='Madigan'] and roll the dice on the 2027 guard. Morgan has punished those matchups at will, and now that the Spartan has the confidence that she can do what she does best against 17 and 18-year-olds, she'll be a challenge to slow down.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='652141' first='Rachael' last='Chilicki']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After getting a few minutes last year on varsity, watching teams try to defend Chilicki and [player_tooltip player_id='842215' first='Lucy' last='Sarna'] has been one of the funniest things I've seen this year. One defense seemed like they played a triangle and two, but put the triangle around the 6-3 sophomore. That is one of the most unique defenses I've ever seen. However, her touch is still as good as I remember it being last summer, and she'll keep getting better and give the overall shorter Classic Eight fits all year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->