What are some other things I’m following this season?

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We talked about some players to keep an eye on in 2024-25. Today, we're looking at some overarching storylines for this season in a macro sense and storylines to follow this upcoming season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Can anyone in Wisconsin beat Pewaukee this season?</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The simple answer is yes, teams can beat Pewaukee. However, the more intriguing question is which teams can mentally handle playing 36 minutes against a battle-tested team like Pewaukee.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Pirates always have a run in them, and no matter how well you defend, they'll make shots and can make them in bunches. Even if teams play well with them for a half, they're known to break games open in the second half.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In D1, there are possibly two and a half teams who can hang with Pewaukee, and the half is Arrowhead because we're unsure what they'll look like in game one.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kimberly and Hartford are the two teams I see with the best shot at beating the reigning D2 champions. Hartford has the requisite offensive firepower to play in a shootout, and if not for a superhuman performance from Allie Ziebell last March, the Orioles could've lifted the gold ball themselves. Their question mark on the defensive end.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Papermakers have plenty of talent. However, Kimberly is a younger group. Last season, a slew of injuries slowed down their momentum late in the season, but player for player, the Papermakers have the talent to match up with the Pirates.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The issue for both teams, the Orioles and Papermakers, reside in the same sectional as Pewaukee.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Who outperforms expectations?</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A fun exercise for me every year is to guess which teams surpass expectations I feel people have for programs, so I'll list a few teams to watch this coming season in bullet-point format in each division.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>-Westosha Central</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>-Grafton</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>-Wisconsin Dells</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>-Argyle/Pecatonica</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>-Clayton</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Who takes D4?</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>No Laconia means we'll see a new state champion for the first time since Mineral Point won D4 in 2022.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 2025 tournament will be the last chance for a talented Prairie School team that's run into Laconia each of the previous two seasons. [player_tooltip player_id='374228' first='JJ' last='Glass-Barnes'] is an immense talent and will be the best player in D4 this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cuba City's season will depend on the health of [player_tooltip player_id='374234' first='Olivia' last='Olson'] this coming spring, but the Cubans should be able to manage the regular season with their group that's all back from last season's runner-up group.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Argyle/Pecatonica's pace and style of play will be challenging for teams to handle, and [player_tooltip player_id='874373' first='Brooke' last='Wellnitz']'s defense could be an X-factor.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The other two teams to watch will be Regis and Fall Creek.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Crickets have been a traditional power and have won plenty of state titles on banners in their gym. Fall Creek also has kids who've been around the block.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Regis' addition of [player_tooltip player_id='751257' first='EllaMay' last='Cooper'] gives them the top guard in the division, and her ability to create shots for others could make them a tough out this postseason.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2025 Ms. Basketball Race</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For fun, I'll throw out an initial set of ten names to watch in this season's Ms. Basketball race.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>-[player_tooltip player_id='374229' first='Amy' last='Terrian']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>-[player_tooltip player_id='374227' first='Rainey' last='Welson']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>-[player_tooltip player_id='338945' first='Makena' last='Christian']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>-[player_tooltip player_id='374228' first='JJ' last='Glass-Barnes']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>-[player_tooltip player_id='448243' first='Katelyn' last='McGinnis']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>-[player_tooltip player_id='374233' first='Lydia' last='Aalsma']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>-[player_tooltip player_id='602353' first='Jordan' last='Fenske']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>-[player_tooltip player_id='767273' first='Eva' last='Brooks']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>-[player_tooltip player_id='342096' first='Tierney' last='Madigan']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>-[player_tooltip player_id='448247' first='Megan' last='Johnson']</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->