Names I’ve Been Impressed By This Season

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Players step into new roles and take more prominent positions on both ends of the floor. Today, we'll look at some players who've excelled in their time on the floor to open the season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='914983' first='Beanie' last='Thompson']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>What Thompson can do on the floor is absurd and doesn't always make sense. She's among the top rebounding guards in the state, leading a talented Edgewood team in scoring by always being available and finding points around the basket. Her motor runs higher than most, and she's among the mentally strongest kids in her 2027 class. Nothing fazes her.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='427156' first='Valerie' last='Richardson']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We talked about Richardson recently, but she's been unbelievable. Her ability to create shots is up there with some of the best in the state. The lefty has excellent footwork to get to side-step or step-back three-pointers, and teams have paid close attention to her once the ball gets into her hands. Five sets of eyes lock in on what she's doing, and the Madison East guard has still been able to make things happen.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='842210' first='Gracie' last='Clary']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Lodi native is on every statistical leaderboard in the Capitol-North. Her ability to affect the game in different ways is similar to what Lucy Leininger did at Germantown last season. Clary has the length and athleticism to do everything on the defensive end, and she's been slowly coming along as an offensive threat. Clary's a name for scholarship programs to keep tabs on.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1039264' first='Taylor' last='Klingbeil']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Medford native has a solid frame at 5'10, with room to fill out with more muscle. Her ability to use that length on the defensive end has been noticeable against some 6'0+ wings in the Great Northern Conference. However, she's been excellent on the offensive end this season. Klingbeil has knocked down well over 40% of her three-point attempts and nearly has as many makes as she did last season from out there. She's slotted into a high-usage role at Medford and thrived in her sophomore season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Taya Whittenberger</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Chetek-Weyerhaeuser guard has been a bright spot for the Bulldogs. In an early stretch where they've faced some talented teams in Northwest Wisconsin, Whittenberger is scoring the ball well. She had a 25-point game against Webster and has shown positive flashes against Cameron, even though they ran away from the Bulldogs in that game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Morgan Lobitz</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 5'10 wing has been excellent for Birchwood thus far in her senior season. In two games, with stats in, She's averaging 28 points per contest and led the Bobcats to their first win since they defeated Bruce on February 6th, 2023. We'll see if Lobitz continues that level of play, but she's been excellent early.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->