EDITOR'S NOTE: The Swnews4u.com Athlete of the Week is a web-only feature that will publish each Thursday or Friday throughout the calendar year.
By Jason Nihles, The Platteville Journal, Fennimore Times, Boscobel Dial
Maddy Lange, Sr., G, Black Hawk girls basketball
SOUTH WAYNE — The Black Hawk girls basketball opened the season with a pair of home wins behind sizzling shooting performances from senior guard Maddy Lange.
Lange poured in a staggering 35 points on 15 of 21 shooting to lead Black Hawk to a 75–34 blowout win over Orfordville Parkview last Tuesday, Nov. 26. She also snagged six rebounds, grabbed a game-high six steals and two assists in the victory, while Hailey Wellnitz added five points and 13 rebounds. The Warriors gave the Vikings no room to breathe, outscoring the traveling team by a tune of 54-13 over the opening half. Parkview kept pace in the second half, but the damage was already done.
The Warriors had a tougher test days later against the Clinton Cougars, but still went into the break with a big lead, extending it to the closing buzzer, for a 59–36 non-conference win on Monday night.
Lange led the team again, this time with a double–double of 19 points, 12 rebounds, four steals and three assists. Nine of her 12 rebounds game on the offensive end. Reese Anderson also finished with a double–double of 16 points and 13 points, and Maddy Place (13 points) and Mya Milz (10 points) score in double figures for the winners.
HONORABLE MENTION (in alphabetical order):
Rianna Dye, F, Platteville girls basketball
Dye hits a left-handed layup off a pass from sophomore point guard Avery Richard at the buzzer to beat Barneveld 51–50 in Nov. 19's season-opener for both teams. Dye finished with 12 points and seven rebounds. Two nights later, Dye and Richard did it again, teaming up for the game-winning layup with 1.1 left in a 51–49 win at Mineral Point. Platteville rallied from a 49–46 deficit with 1:09 left to play after forcing a defensive five-second call and a game-tying 3-pointer from Claire Huser from the right wing with 53.6 seconds left. Dye blocked Bree Swenson’s layup attempt with 26 seconds left, then Hillmen coach Brandon Temperly called a timeout with 9.8 seconds left to setup the final play. Dye also had 11 points and eight rebounds in Tuesday's 51–42 win over La Crosse Aquinas this past Tuesday night.
Jayce Halverson, So., G, Dodgeville boys basketball
Halverson poured in a career-high 28 points and snatched seven steals in a 64–50 season-opening win over Wisconsin Heights Tuesday night.
Wesley Kraisinger, Sr., F, Highland boys basketball
Kraisinger posted a monster double–double of 22 points (11-19 FG) and 16 rebounds to lead the Cardinals to a 79–57 win over visiting Iowa–Grant in Highland's season-opener Monday night.
Tannah Radloff, Sr., F, Prairie du Chien girls basketball
Radloff hit a pair of 3-pointers and scored a game-high 22 points to lead Prairie du Chien to a 58–37 non-conference victory over New Berlin Eisenhower at the Eisenhower Thanksgiving Classic last Saturday. Radloff, who is averaging 15.3 points per game for the D3 #9-ranked Blackhawks (4–0), scored 12 points in a 51–22 non-conference over Mount Horeb last Monday, and led PdC to 51–26 non-conference win at Fennimore Saturday night.
Elliott Thornton, Sr., F, River Ridge boys basketball
Thornton did most of his damage in the paint, finishing with a game-high 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field and 6-of-8 from the free throw line to lead the Timberwolves to a 52–31 season-opening non-conference win over Fennimore last Tuesday night. He also pulled down a team-high 14 rebounds, including six on the offensive end, to go along with a team-high five steals.
