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

Aidan Uppena, Sr., F, Potosi boys basketball
Potosi senior forward Aidan Uppena continued his torrid stretch on the hardwood, leading the Chieftains to two huge wins over ranked teams in the past week. 

The 6–foot-4 Uppena stepped up in a big way against Division 5 #2-ranked Highland last Thursday night, leading the #8 Chieftains to a key 65–56 conference victory over the Cardinals (15–2, 13–1). Uppena poured in a game-high 24 points on 8 of 18 from the field and 8 of 10 from the free throw line, and also pulled down five rebounds and had a team-high four steals in the win, that catapulted Potosi (15–2, 12–1 SRW) into first place tie in the Six River West standings.

Uppena's clutch performance helped Potosi avenge its only conference loss of the season, a 55–52 loss at Highland back on Dec. 10. 

Uppena continued his stellar play in Monday's 80–75 overtime victory over #3 Southwestern. He scored a game-high 23 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and passed out three assists, and made 12 of 16 free throws in the win to help Potosi pull out a win after blowing a seven-point lead in the final two minutes. Uppena took it easy Tuesday night, posting seven points and three rebounds in limited minutes in a 65–39 blowout of Cassville.

Tuesday's win was the Chieftains' 13th-straight win. Uppena has averaged 18.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks per game, while shooting 49 percent from the field and 78.6 percent at the free throw.

HONORABLE MENTION (in alphabetical order):
Brandon Davis, Jr., PG, River Ridge boys basketball
Davis has averaged 17.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game in three River Ridge wins last week. He had 19 points, five assists and three rebounds in a 84–39 win over Benton last Tuesday night, then posted a double–double of 15 points, 11 assist and 8 boards in a 61–36 at Cassville last Monday. Davis opened this week with an 18-point, 8-rebound, 6-assist effort in a 77–36 win over Boscobel.

Macie Galle, Sr., Platteville/Belmont/Lancaster gymnastics
Galle led the Hillmen to the team title at last Saturday's seven-team River Valley Invitational, placing third in the all-around with a new personal-best score of 35.1. She also placed second in the vault (9.15), third on the uneven bars (8.6), fourth on the balance beam (8.7) and fifth on the floor exercise (8.7).

Kate Kenney, So., G, Fennimore girls basketball
Kenney made 7 of 11 field goal attempts and 5 of 6 at the free throw line to scored a game-high 19 points to lead the surging Golden Eagles to a 57–50 victory over Southwestern last Thursday night. It was Fennimore's (9–11, 6–6) fifth-straight win and ninth in 14 games after an 0–6 start.

Larson was nearly perfect in last Friday’s night’s stunning upset of Division 4 #8-ranked Cuba City. Larson made 12 of 13 field goal attempts, including all three from 3-point land, and finished 1 of 2 at free throw line to score a new career-high 28 points in a 71–59 victory over the visiting Cubans. He also grabbed a new career-high 12 rebounds to post his first career double–double. Larson also had 16 points and seven rebounds in a narrow 55–51 loss at Lancaster Tuesday night.

Jessica Morgan, Sr., G/F, Lancaster girls basketball
Morgan scored a team-high 22 points in a 61–36 non-conference victory over Iowa–Grant last Tuesday night to surpass the 1,000-point mark for her career. With 22 points in a 60–22 win over winless Richland Center last Friday night, Morgan now has 1,024 points in her career, joining Lancaster girls' all-time leading scorer Sheila Evans (1,228) and Kiley Kelley (1,047) as the Flying Arrows only 1,000-point scorers.

Kaci Riechers, Sr., PG, Belmont girls basketball
Riechers made four 3-pointers, converted 6 of 7 free throw attempts and poured in a career-high 28 points to go along with five rebounds and three steals in the Braves' 67–46 win over Black Hawk last Friday night. She then posted 15 points, seven rebounds and two assists in a 59–55 non-conference loss to Belleville Monday night.

Tanner Simmons, Sr., PG, Belmont boys basketball
Simmons posted a near triple–double of 19 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in a commanding 77–51 win over Benton Tuesday night.