Division 5 Sectional Difference Makers

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Regionals are over, we are down to the final 16 teams in each division, and by Saturday we will know who is Green Bay bound. Today I will highlight who I see as key difference makers, in Division 5, that could help their teams pull an upset tonight.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Naomi Liabwill</strong>-Lourdes Academy</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>My key, for the Knights tonight, is the resurgent play of 6-0 freshman Naomi Liabwill. Putting up 21 points and 11 rebounds is just the spark the Knights were looking for in their 48-41 Regional final win over Valley Christian. Tonight Lourdes will be put to the test against 20-7 #1 Sheboygan Lutheran. The play of Liabwill, and the energy she brings off of the bench, will be paramount if the Knights hope to advance to the Sectional final.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Aaliyah Newby</strong>-Almond-Bancroft</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The old saying that it is hard to beat a team three times in a season will be put to the test tonight when the 22-4 Eagles take on Pacelli, a team that has beaten them twice this season by an average of 7 points. On a senior-dominant Almond-Bancroft team, my key player for tonight is Aaliyah Newby (5-10). Her scoring (16.7 ppg), playmaking ability (5.7 apg), and defense (3.5 spg) will be critical to pull some of the defensive pressure off of leading scorer Mya Dernbach and to help shut down Pacelli's balanced offensive attack.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='992517' first='Zami' last='Gary']</strong>-Madison Country Day</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Prairie Hawks, winners of their first three games, by an average of 43.3 points, do not look like your regular #4 seed. Critical to their play, so far, and their chances tonight, is the 5-7 sophomore Gary. Averaging 25.1, for the season she has matched that, during the tournament while adding 13 boards per game. Tonight they play #2 Fall River (15-11) fresh off of a nail-biting 42-37 win over Randolph. While not necessarily an upset, the 15-9 Prairie Hawks will need to show they can win close games and that may come as soon as tonight.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->