Early season Sophomore Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Earlier this week I spotlighted several freshman off to hot starts. Today we focus on some of the standout sophomore performances that made me take notice.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='936786' first='Leah' last='Awe']-SPASH</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 6'3" super sophomore followed up her 21 and 6 opening night with 20 points and 14 rebounds against Minnesota powerhouse Hopkins before putting up 38 and 14, in her next two games, leading the Panthers to a 3-1 start. I watched her play a couple of times, last season, and while raw, you could see the breakout was coming and it is definitely here. Paired with All-State Junior [player_tooltip player_id='764935' first='Jada' last='Seubert'] makes SPASH an intriguing team to watch once the playoffs roll around.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='992484' first='Ambria' last='Fischer']-Appleton East</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 5'5" Fischer has proven to be an invaluable piece, off the bench, for the Patriots providing a huge spark. She leads the team in rebounds (6.3), assists (4.3), is tied for the lead with 1.3 steals per game and is fourth in scoring averaging 6.7 points all while playing less than 20 minutes a night. She always seems to be around the ball making smart decisions, playing good defense, and has Appleton East looking strong as they get into the teeth of the conference season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='932119' first='Mya' last='Mayer']-Kettle Moraine Lutheran</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On a team filled with talented sophomores, the 6'0" Mayer has really stood out putting up 98 points (19.6 ppg) and 47 rebounds (9.4 rpg), over the first five games, while shooting 66% from the floor. She provides a badly needed inside presence as the Chargers look to get over the hump and to the Resch Center in March.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Allyah Schwem-Viroqua</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It would be hard to duplicate Schwem's stellar freshman season where she put up 517 points (22.8 ppg) and 5.4 steals per game but the talented guard is on her way tallying 72 points and 25 points in a 3-1 start for the Blackhawks. Once her 3-point shot comes around, I expect her to easily surpass last season's totals and lead Viroqua to their first winning season since 2007.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='992517' first='Zami' last='Gary']-Madison Country Day</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I got the opportunity to watch Zami play at The Expo, in September, and came away impressed by her shooting and scoring ability. Gary had a spectacular freshman season where she averaged 20.9 ppg and shot 31.6% from 3. Her improvements have translated, from the summer with an 84 point, 24 rebound, 14 assist, and 15 steal stat line in her first three games (all wins). Equally deadly off of catch-and-shoot as she is pulling off the dribble, Gary is shooting 50% from the floor, 33% from three, and 71 % from the free-throw line and has the Prairie Hawks off to a fast start.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->