D1 Semifinal Preview: No. 1 Arrowhead vs. No. 4 Franklin

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's finally here. State Tournament week is upon us. The brackets are out. In less than a week, we'll crown five state champions. There is no better week in high school sports than this one we're heading into. Throughout the week, we'll preview the semifinal games and what to watch for from each team. Today, I'll release the D1 previews, and we'll end with D5 on Thursday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Arrowhead</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Whenever a team has the talent that Arrowhead has, there's plenty of external pressure to get to this point, and also internal pressure.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kids like [player_tooltip player_id='533057' first='Natalie' last='Kussow'], [player_tooltip player_id='533069' first='Presly' last='Samz'], and [player_tooltip player_id='533082' first='Libby' last='Gilmore'] have competed against some of the best travel teams in the country and gone toe-to-toe with those teams and beat them. That level of success breeds a competitiveness that translates to winning in February and March.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Warhawks, in sectionals, went out and beat the two best teams in the Madison area in Verona and Oregon. Both groups were unbeaten heading into that game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The one piece the Warhawks lack is a go-to post player, but because of how they play, it doesn't matter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>You'll see a lot of dribble-drive stuff with them, which fits their personnel. Kussow, Samz, Gilmore, Abby Robel, and [player_tooltip player_id='751284' first='Sidney' last='Zehner'] are all kids who can get to the paint and knock down shots from the perimeter. However, since they can make shots, they give their guards space to operate and get to the basket. When this team is at their best, it starts with their guards getting downhill to score or create for their teammates.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The x-factor for this group is [player_tooltip player_id='444796' first='Erica' last='Bub']. Bub can rack up points and rebounds and change a game in five minutes when she's at her best. Don't look past what she brings as their five.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Franklin</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I talked in my sectional preview about the two seasons Franklin has had, one before [player_tooltip player_id='337022' first='Natalie' last='Meaux'] returned from injury and the one after.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Before Meaux's return, Franklin did well in the Southeast Conference and beat their conference rivals without her. However, from the first game of the year, when the Sabers traveled to Muskego, it was clear that this team was much different without her on the floor.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After Meaux got back, there were some struggles, like at home against Oak Creek, but it's clear now that this group was at its best with her for a couple of reasons. One, Meaux is their best ball handler, but more importantly, kids like [player_tooltip player_id='457814' first='Rachael' last='Jepsen'] and [player_tooltip player_id='444788' first='Lauren' last='Capstran'] excel in their current roles.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jepsen and Capstran are two kids who can make perimeter shots and make some plays on the defensive end, but they aren't primary ball handlers. However, if you ask them to create space and defend the other team's best guard or forward, they can do that.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There aren't many expectations, but if this ended up being a single-digit game late in the second half, I wouldn't be shocked, but it'd be an eye-brow raiser.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Predicted Winner: Arrowhead</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->