Takeaways from the Kettle Moraine Thanksgiving Classic

There are plenty of aspects of the Kettle Moraine Thanksgiving Classic to highlight, as always, and we'll get to all of that today. I'll also have my polls up for all five divisions at some point later today. However, let's attack the events from KM and highlight some of my takeaways.   Muskego and Hudson are better than expected.   After attending Hudson's season-opening win against Prescott last week, I knew they were deep and had plenty of talent. I also watched Muskego earn their first win of the season at Waukesha West this past Tuesday and thought their 1-3-1 trapping defense looked more fluid and aggressive.   Hudson has plenty of talent in their sophomore class in [player_tooltip player_id='814306' first='Devin' last='Larson'], and [player_tooltip player_id='751276' first='Olivia' last='LaBlanc'] is enough to hang with anyone in their sectional. When they get contributions from [player_tooltip player_id='914300' first='Ella' last='Wolfe'], [player_tooltip player_id='764290' first='Gretchen' last='Whitten'], Jaydn Mataczynski, Greta Belaney, Maggie McDonell, and [player_tooltip player_id='992505' first='Libby' last='Bartz'], they become a headache to defend. In their loss to Muskego, we saw them get a little sped up, the good looks they created didn't fall, and LaBlanc sat for most of that game with an injury, which hopefully isn't anything serious. The Raiders could do something special.   The Warriors are coming off a season where they'll tell you they left some things on the table in the Classic 8 and the postseason. Even this season didn't start on the right foot, with a loss on the road to Bradford, they've righted the ship in these last few games, befuddling Waukesha West's offense and stifling the Hudson offense that had been rolling coming into their matchup yesterday.   Muskego is comfortable playing with ten kids, and each fits into what they want to do. [player_tooltip player_id='528116' first='Autumn' last='Dibb'], [player_tooltip player_id='528122' first='Melena' last='Glysch'], and [player_tooltip player_id='528119' first='Rachel' last='Agg'] are all versatile kids who can handle, shoot, and be physical on the defensive end, with Dibb being the emotional leader. However, kids like [player_tooltip player_id='842235' first='Mallory' last='Glysch'], [player_tooltip player_id='889826' first='Clare' last='Sperka'], and [player_tooltip player_id='884001' first='Cassidy' last='Hemauer'] can make plays for the Warriors, and that's not even mentioning [player_tooltip player_id='751273' first='Molly' last='Makinen'], [player_tooltip player_id='883652' first='Maive' last='Coggins'], Bree Scafe, or Samantha Brunner, who've all made positive plays in their minutes on the floor.   Arrowhead is the class of the Classic 8   The Warhawks' first-half dismantling of Germantown aside, Arrowhead made it clear that, at their best, they can compete with just about anyone.   [player_tooltip player_id='533057' first='Natalie' last='Kussow'] is one of the most efficient scorers in Wisconsin, [player_tooltip player_id='533069' first='Presly' last='Samz'] is one of the most trustworthy guards in the state, [player_tooltip player_id='751284' first='Sidney' last='Zehner'] is dynamic off the dribble, and the newer faces of [player_tooltip player_id='1039221' first='Addison' last='Pommerening'] and [player_tooltip player_id='764907' first='Ellyana' last='Petersen'] each bring something to the table. [player_tooltip player_id='509719' first='Teresa' last='Kescenovitz'] has also waited her turn and looks to make the most of her senior campaign.   The new kid on the block, Karina Klemz, also showed some positive traits on the offensive end. The former Californian showed poise on that end of the floor, used her length to make some extra effort plays around the basket, and it's clear that she has a shooter's touch. She's still green to her new environment and will need time to figure things out, but nobody will complain about adding a 5'11 or 6'0 wing with her talent. It's nice to have her in the state.   [player_tooltip player_id='751287' first='Tessa' last='Bryan'] turned a corner.   I had heard the rumblings for a few months and just pocketed them for safekeeping, but plenty of Lakers people were bullish about Bryan having a breakout season, and early signs say they're correct.   The 5'8 guard has built a reputation of her athleticism being excellent but not always being able to control it, which was fair. However, the [player_tooltip player_id='751287' first='Tessa' last='Bryan'] we saw yesterday against Whitefish Bay was far and away the best version of her by a wide margin.   Everything Bryan touched turned to gold. She never settled for jumpers and constantly put pressure on opposing defenses. Over the next 21 games and change, if that same [player_tooltip player_id='751287' first='Tessa' last='Bryan'] shows up, she's a different level of athlete.   Waunakee is the most talented group in the Badger-Large.   [player_tooltip player_id='751287' first='Tessa' last='Bryan'] aside, I feel the Warriors' depth of talent and depth of talent is the best in their conference.   Simply watching them pull a kid like [player_tooltip player_id='874384' first='Keira' last='Van Wie'] off the bench signifies their talent level.   [player_tooltip player_id='509699' first='Graycin' last='Phillips'] looked solid after recovering from surgery, [player_tooltip player_id='533066' first='Audrey' last='Meudt'] was the best rebounder in their game yesterday, and Katie Gnorski had an excellent two days in Kettle Moraine.   I forgot if I said they'd be a Sectional Final-caliber team, but that's where they're at.   Whitefish Bay will be fun to watch.   I thought their game against Waunakee was over when the score got to 60-49 with less than five minutes to go, but the frantic five the Blue Dukes rolled out had other ideas.   The [player_tooltip player_id='751283' first='Rowan' last='Counsell']-[player_tooltip player_id='751252' first='Carrington' last='Balthasar']-Madelin Volpe-[player_tooltip player_id='509716' first='Sage' last='Miskel']-Itsy Smith lineup did an extraordinary amount of damage to close that game out, and the Blue Dukes can go that route whenever they want, which is a bit terrifying.   Plenty of other kids can make plays, but whenever they have kids playing desperate, they've shown they're never out of a game.   The top of the D2 field is murky.   Partially due to the Whitefish Bay showings, D2 looks wide open.   Edgewood looks as good as they did last season and with an improved [player_tooltip player_id='914983' first='Beanie' last='Thompson']. Wauwatosa has been dominant in all of their games. Whitefish Bay leaned into their speed, and Lakeland has given teams fits. Rice Lake has, arguably, the best kid in the field, and West De Pere's guards are legitimately dangerous.   [player_tooltip player_id='375953' first='Aubrey' last='Leonard'] is more important to Laconia than people probably think.   I've always liked Leonard's game and thought that her ability to attack and make others better unlocked most of what Laconia does, and unfortunately, I saw that put to the test after a head-to-head collision in their matchup with Homestead.   Laconia was missing an aggressive, creative presence. The talent was still there, but things felt more uncomfortable watching them than they had in the three years I've seen them play. Hopefully, it's nothing that keeps her out too long. Leonard deserves more credit than she probably earns statewide. The Roosevelt commit has had a fantastic three-year career thus far.   Homestead is interesting.   After three years of coming up short, being the epitome of beating who you should, and coming up short against better teams for one reason or another, the Highlanders beat Laconia in their first game of the new season.   There were plenty of questions, even from me, with a new coach and losing some longtime starters to graduations, about how good this team could be. However, they played well in their first game.   Regardless of how we got here with Homestead, this is the Highlanders' last chance to make some noise in the North Shore and the postseason for the foreseeable future as things stand, and that senior class of [player_tooltip player_id='329589' first='Madison' last='Fitzgibbon'], [player_tooltip player_id='338951' first='Natalie' last='Mueller'], [player_tooltip player_id='338947' first='Lauren' last='Strifling'], [player_tooltip player_id='448303' first='Grace' last='Zortman'], and Anisa Barnett started things off on the right foot.   The "Best of the Rest" Race in the Classic 8 will be interesting to follow.   Everyone assumes that Arrowhead will win the Classic 8, myself included. However, the race for second is shaping up to be one to follow.   Muskego has an inside track with a convincing win at Waukesha West, but West isn't out of contention yet. [player_tooltip player_id='602353' first='Jordan' last='Fenske'] is among the top players in the conference and should play her best basketball this season.   The other two main ones to watch are Kettle Moraine and Catholic Memorial. KM has their stable of seniors in [player_tooltip player_id='602360' first='Keegan' last='Lodes']-[player_tooltip player_id='767268' first='Emily' last='Gomez']-[player_tooltip player_id='338955' first='Lola' last='Bond'] and has some other talent in [player_tooltip player_id='751267' first='Lauren' last='Kowalski'] and [player_tooltip player_id='992511' first='Quinn' last='Lodes'], among other 2028s looking to make their mark.   The one from out of left field is Oconomowoc. The Raccoons play with the energy Coach Mueske instills in them, and they just gave Arrowhead a fight, so keep an eye on the Raccoons.   [player_tooltip player_id='914983' first='Beanie' last='Thompson'] is good enough to decide how D2 concludes this March.   I talked about the Taya Fernandez-[player_tooltip player_id='764918' first='Anna' last='Miller'] plenty last season, and the loss of Fernandez could be problematic. However, I failed to realize [player_tooltip player_id='914983' first='Beanie' last='Thompson'] would explode onto the scene in her sophomore season.   The 5'8 guard plays like her hair is on fire. She's as good of a rebounder at the guard spot as you'll find, and she isn't afraid of contact. She scored the Crusaders' first 11 points in their win over Germantown on Friday and finished a rebound shy of a double-double with 21 points and nine rebounds.   Thompson plays so hard it's easy to enjoy the motor she plays with.

There are plenty of aspects of the Kettle Moraine Thanksgiving Classic to highlight, as always, and we'll get to all of that today. I'll also have my polls up for all five divisions at some point later today. However, let's attack the events from KM and highlight some of my takeaways.