Breakout Players Heading Into the Holiday Break

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Happy Holidays to anyone who may be reading either of my two articles on this Christmas Eve. The holidays bring surprises, whether that comes in the form of hearing stories from extended family, receiving presents, making New Year's resolutions, or other things. Today, I'd like to discuss a few surprises. In the first article, I'll highlight some players who have taken a step forward in the first half-dozen weeks of the high school season, and in my second article, we'll talk about teams that have been better than people may have thought in early November.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='889178' first='Tia' last='Anderson']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After Emme Drobac decided not to play basketball this season, I was a little worried that Deerfield would take a step back, and my pick for D4 state champions would look a little foolish in November. However, sophomore guard [player_tooltip player_id='889178' first='Tia' last='Anderson'] has done an excellent job of stepping into that void at the lead guard spot and making it her own. The Demon's lead guard has controlled the ball well and orchestrated her offense at a high level against everyone they've lined up against. Anderson's minutes at the start of the game have allowed Deerfield to jump out to early leads and control the game from the front. Anderson has also been one of the more prominent creators in Division 4 this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1275661' first='Jordan' last='Ohman']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Menomonie guard had an excellent end to her grassroots season with [program_tooltip program_id='713332' first='Team' last='Wisconsin'] and has continued that momentum into her junior season with the Mustangs. Ohman has played a crucial role for her team and has done a little of everything on both ends of the floor. She has been a reliable scorer and creator on the offensive end of the floor and had a breakout performance in Menomonie against Rice Lake, heading into the winter break. She has the physical tools to be a productive two-way guard in her class.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='932119' first='Mya' last='Mayer']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kettle Moraine Lutheran has a history of playing newcomers on its JV team, and few have played a role at teh varsity level to begin their high school careers, B. Luehring being the only example I can think of. However, Mayer has been among the most productive post players in the state when the season kicked off for the Chargers. Mayer has the physicality, footwork, and skill to finish around the basket and be a double-double threat anytime she steps on the floor.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='992511' first='Quinn' last='Lodes']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Since I've been around, Kettle Moraine has had an upperclassmen latent group, and they've had success every year. However, this season, the Lasers have a young group with plenty of talent and athleticism. Lodes has been the leader of this new era of KM basketball and is a reliable scoring and creative threat offensively. After a season of Lodes finding her role, she's begun her sophomore season with all the confidence in the world and has been an efficent 20-point scorer, while shooting over 40% from beyond the three-point line. Lodes is a name to know in the Classic Eight as the Lasers continue to add to their program through the youth program over the next few seasons.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->