WIAA/WBCA Summer Slam: Team Notes

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There were plenty of teams in Appleton I hadn't seen before and others I'd seen multiple times. Regardless, I want to talk about some teams I was impressed by at Summer Slam.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Fall Creek</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Crickets were a half of basketball away from making the state tournament this season but fell short. I thought Fall Creek played solid basketball when I saw them, and the most prominent change of all is [player_tooltip player_id='491719' first='Jasmin' last='Heuer']'s willingness to step out and take more perimeter jumpers, which I talked about yesterday. They play a very up-tempo game, which has tended to help teams get further in the playoffs. Usually, better teams want more possessions to score more points, and the Crickets' press will help them achieve that. I'd take them to get to Green Bay this Winter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Edgewood</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Losing Taya Fernandez will hurt more in the middle of a long season, but the Crusaders looked good in Green Bay. [player_tooltip player_id='764918' first='Anna' last='Miller'] and [player_tooltip player_id='914305' first='Erin' last='Schauer'] thrived and made massive plays in competitive games, as they've shown in the past. [player_tooltip player_id='995775' first='Maren' last='Schmotzer'] showed positive flashes and used her size and mobility to finish over smaller defenders. They have one of the more talented groups in D2 and should be a team that could make a run back to Green Bay but in D2 this season instead of D3.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Wauwatosa East</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Red Raiders weren't at full strength and had seven players on Friday, but the players they had will be fixtures in Tosa East's rotation all season. The five-person lineup of [player_tooltip player_id='400915' first='Mikaia' last='Litza']-[player_tooltip player_id='509696' first='Emma' last='Close']-[player_tooltip player_id='509715' first='Sadie' last='Kubacki']-[player_tooltip player_id='454966' first='Ellie' last='Deprey']-[player_tooltip player_id='766594' first='Audrey' last='Sellinger'] crushed on the offensive end. They have an opportunity to take the GMC by storm with their offensive prowess, and they didn't have their best defender, Sun Prairie West transfer [player_tooltip player_id='528123' first='Makenzie' last='Hawk']. I thought the Red Raiders showed their metal and why they went to the state tournament last season and will be one of the favorites in D2 heading into the winter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Kimberly</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Not having any of the three kids who got significant minutes as lead guard bites. However, the Papermakers played excellent basketball each day. [player_tooltip player_id='764903' first='Ava' last='Van Vonderen'] took most of the minutes as a lead guard, and her skill helped her make things happen. They played the two other best teams in the gym at Summer Slam and made a solid account for themselves while shorthanded. [player_tooltip player_id='764909' first='Haylie' last='Dulas'], [player_tooltip player_id='448243' first='Katelyn' last='McGinnis'], and [player_tooltip player_id='448245' first='Raegan' last='Krueger'] all played well when I watched them play, and nobody will pick them to get out of their sectional, but don't shut the door on that possibility. The Papermakers are still one of the deepest teams in the state and will add more newcomers from their youth program this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->