Players that Surprised Me This Season

<span data-preserver-spaces="true">To start the week, I’d like to talk about some players who surprised me when I got to see them in person this season. The four players I’m going to talk about are all players who aren’t high on our rankings. The players listed are also in no particular order.</span> <strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">[player_tooltip player_id="329558" first="Kailey" last="Wozniak"]-5’9 G/F-’23-Pius XI</span></strong> <span data-preserver-spaces="true">I learned about Wozniak when I stumbled into Pius’ first game of the season against Milwaukee Academy of Science. Before the game started, she went around the world in warmups, knocking down 10 3’s in about 12 attempts. In my mind, to this day, Wozniak is an elite shooter. In reality, she started the season struggling from back there but improved as the year went on. In Pius’ final ten games, she made 40% of her 52 3-point attempts. So I will still be arguing there’s a high-level shooter within Wozniak. That said, there’s a lot more to her offensive game. She is an excellent driver. The junior is an athletic wing who can navigate small spaces in the paint to create her shot. Defensively, Wozniak can be an ace. I’ve seen her defend scholarship-level kids at a high level. She stays in front, doesn’t foul, and brings an edge on the defensive end.</span> <strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">[player_tooltip player_id="379639" first="Bella" last="Oestreicher"]-5’9 G/F-’23-Beaver Dam</span></strong> <span data-preserver-spaces="true">I love the way that Oestreicher plays. She is the kind of person who expects perfection out of herself. You can see this when the junior is on the floor. Even if she blocks a shot out of bounds that the Golden Beaver thought she could’ve kept in play, you can tell she’s slightly upset with herself. Offensively, she’s a swiss army knife who can attack the basket and knock down shots from a long distance. Defensively, Oestreicher plays with aggression. She usually defends the other teams’ best wing. The Golden Beaver isn’t afraid to battle for 36 minutes. She’s a winning player.</span> <strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">[player_tooltip player_id="342104" first="Brianna" last="McCurdy"]-5’8 G-’23-St. Croix Falls</span></strong> <span data-preserver-spaces="true">I did not see McCurdy’s best game of the season when St. Croix Falls played Freedom. Even in a game where she didn’t play her best, she showed her quality. The junior was excellent with the ball in her hands and proved a lot going against one of the best guards in the state in Green Bay. She played well for the Saints this season, and I’d expect an even better senior season next winter.</span> <strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">[player_tooltip player_id="367058" first="Ashlyn" last="Knapp"]-5’8 G-’23-Prairie du Chien</span></strong> <span data-preserver-spaces="true">When someone asks me about Prairie du Chien, the first thing I think of is Krahn. That said, Knapp isn’t much far behind. I genuinely love Knapp’s ability to pass the ball. I like to describe her as an "aggressive passer." Knapp creates passing lanes that don’t exist, and it’s an incredible thing to see in person. The fact that she had a positive assist to turnover ratio is mind-blowing and a testament to how talented of a playmaker she is right now. Next season will be fun to watch with Knapp having more responsibility.</span>