Looking Back at Players Who Impressed at Games I attended

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I attended five games this week. Before I release my weekly D1-D5 polls, let's look at a few kids who impressed in those games.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='528123' first='Makenzie' last='Hawk']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The physicality that Hawk brings to Tosa East isn't something the Red Raiders have had for the past few seasons. How she can handle the contact from playing under the rim means her defensive abilities in the paint will change the shot profile teams have taken against Tosa East over the past few years. Hawk will be a double-double threat all season in the Greater Metro. It also helps that Hawk is a solid athlete who can give the Red Raiders some options in how they want to defend, whether that means 1-3-1 zones, switching all five positions, or any other option.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='992508' first='Macy' last='Stremlow']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The latest Stremlow to roll through Verona has plenty of potential. Macy will eventually be a guard at Verona, but she guards some talented bigs around Madison. She has an unbelievable amount of toughness to her. Stremlow took a scary tumble going for a rebound and got undercut, and she popped back up like nothing happened. In the Wildcats Big Eight tie with Vel Phillips Memorial, Stremlow finished with eight points and 11 rebounds off the bench for Verona.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='751281' first='Rita' last='Kuepper']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Hartford guard is a talented creator and a tough-shot maker. In the North Shore, where teams plan on doing everything they can to slow down [player_tooltip player_id='338945' first='Makena' last='Christian'], Kuepper will have opportunities to create one-on-one, and that's what she did against Homestead. She scored 23 points in that massive North Shore matchup, and in the first half, when the Highlanders bracketed Christian, Kuepper scored 15 points and punished the defense for having one kid guard her. Her ability to create off the dribble and combine with Christian on the interior gives Hartford a pairing that no other D1 program has and could lead to the Orioles surprising some people in the postseason.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='874384' first='Keira' last='Van Wie']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I never knew the Waunakee newcomer had the edge to her game that she did. Van Wie appears to be a mild-mannered kid. However, she showed a competitive edge when challenged. Her athleticism at the point of the Warrior full-court press generated success for Waunakee, and in her minutes, it felt like the Warriors played their best basketball. Van Wie can help Waunakee be more athletic, taller, and versatile, so it's unsurprising that she was in closing minutes last night.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->