Guards That’ve Stood Out to Me This Season

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We're in the final month of the high school basketball regular season, which has flown by. I've got 72 games under me from Bay Port to Cuba City, Beloit, and Rice Lake. There are plenty of kids I've seen and highlighted throughout the season, but there are a few kids I'd like to highlight in my first few articles of the month.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["533070"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-679e395ecd37c"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Playing in a talented backcourt in her first two seasons may have meant Jirsa may not have started or been this otherworldy stat accumulator but learned behind kids like Taylor Stremlow, Maia Ellis, Reagan Briggs, and Abbi Rupnow. Now Jirsa's a guard helping her team to an undefeated record with a massive road game at Vel Phillips Memorial to determine if the Big Eight is shared or won outright. She's been an excellent balance to Rauwolf's creativity and Jensen's shooting. Jirsa is the piece that connects everything, and she's proven to be a high-level defender in the Big Eight.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["915005"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-679e395ecd3e0"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Mount Horeb is still figuring some things out, but Monroe has been the kid who's excelled all season. Every possession needs to have a [player_tooltip player_id='915005' first='Courtney' last='Monroe'] touch. No matter where she is or who defends her, Monroe makes the right play whenever she has the ball, and good things happen when she can get multiple touches per possession. They have kids who can score, but Monroe is the kid who can help get the most out of her teammates and still does, even when things aren't going well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["595865"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-679e395ecd42a"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">A player's effort is massive for me, and Olson has loads of it. Last season, she took an elbow to the face, had a few tears in her eyes, and refused to come out of the game. Olson doesn't back down from a challenge. Olson will guard kids larger than her and be as physical as she can be with them for 36 minutes. The Albany/Monticello guard is also a prominent threat on the offensive end of the floor. She creates shots for her teammates more than anyone on her team, and she's been a consistent three-point shooter this season. She was an integral piece to last season's state title-winning group and is again as they look to repeat.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["931583"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-679e395ecd470"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">The Kettle Moraine Lutheran guard stepped into a situation where the team was coming off heartbreak at the state tournament and had a formula that worked to get to the state tournament and compete. Luehring has been an excellent running mate to her sister in the backcourt and has got the ball to her wings and bigs for layups. She's been a reliable scorer, rebounded well, and done things to win games that don't show up in box scores.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block -->