Freshman Difference Makers

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sunday the calendar flips to February, the conference races will heat up, and the march to state will be on. Over the next few articles, I am going to highlight some underclassmen, starting with Freshmen, that I see as potential difference makers at tournament time.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='874401' first='Farrah' last='Danforth']</strong>-Neenah</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Rockets, currently sitting in 3rd place in the FVA, will continue to need the contributions of the 6-0 Danforth to have a chance to stay in the conference hunt and make a run to state. Her solid line of 9.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.3 assists and ability to draw fouls, while shooting 79% from the stripe, will be paramount to closing out those tight late season games.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1264437' first='Kinley' last='Peterson']</strong>-Fox Valley Lutheran</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 14-3 Foxes are another team currently sitting in third, in their conference, with deep tournament aspirations and the 5-9 Peterson has been a difference maker all season. Her numbers speak for themselves. 16.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 2.7 steals while shooting 46% from the floor and 74% from the free-throw line. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='879596' first='Hattie' last='Grishaber']</strong>-Little Chute</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2-23 last season and 6 wins over the course of the last 3 seasons is what Little Chute was looking at coming into 2025. That seems like a long time ago now! As we sit on January 30th, the Mustangs are 14-4, 8-3 in the North Eastern conference and winners of 10 straight games. A huge reason, for the great season, is an influx of freshman talent and the 5-6 Grishaber has been one of the newcomers leading the charge. 15.4 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 2.7 apg, 2.8 spg including a miraculous buzzer beating three, last night, to beat Marinette. The Mustangs are on quite a roll and definitely not a team you want to face at tournament time!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='872479' first='Evelyn' last='Bast']</strong>-E.C. Memorial</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Anytime you play the Old Abes, the focus has to be on stopping their super sophomore, uber-talented [player_tooltip player_id='1173395' first='Norah' last='Kling']. What makes Memorial dangerous is the talent that is around her that can help free her up and that includes 5-7 [player_tooltip player_id='872479' first='Evelyn' last='Bast']. A gifted shooter, she is averaging 11.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1.6 steals while shooting 46.7% from three and 52.6% overall. If the Old Abes look to hold off Rice Lake, Hudson, and make a deep playoff run, they will need the continued fantastic play of Bast.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1236090' first='Elly' last='Gardner']</strong>-Columbus Catholic</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Dons, 13-3 and 8-1 in the Cloverbelt East, are one of Division 5's top teams and a huge reason is the unbelievable freshman season of 5-8 Gardner. 22.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 3 steals per game while shooting 56% from the floor, 44.7% from three, and 83% from the free-throw line are not typical freshman numbers and she will be a main reason if Columbus Catholic can make it to Green Bay in March.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->