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
Olivia Olson, Sr., PG, Cuba City girls basketball
LANCASTER — Cuba City senior standout Olivia Olson has dealt with her fair share of adversity in the past year. She first torn her ACL in her right knee last spring and missed the first 20 games of her team's season this winter.
Then, after relentless rehab to return to the court for the end of her senior season, Olson felt a pop in her surgically repair knee in her first game back — a loss at Dixon (Ill.) on Feb. 13 — and feared the worst. Her — and thousands of Cuba City fans' — fears were relieved when the "pop" was diagnosed as scar tissue from the injury breaking loose.
Last week, Olson helped her Cubans win a Division 4 sectional title and earn a repeat berth to the WIAA D4 Girls Basketball State Tournament, which will begin Thursday at the Resch Center in Green Bay, and in the process became the Cuba City girls' all-time leading scorer.
Olson scored 11 points in last Thursday's 77-46 sectional semifinal victory over No. 3 seed Belleville to move past Jessi Marti’s (Class of 2016) 1,596 career points. Olson accomplished the feat in what has been three years and sevens games this year. The Division 1 UW–Milwaukee recruit added 12 points, six rebounds and four assists in Saturday's 47–43 sectional final victory over #4-ranked La Crosse Aquinas (23–5) Saturday afternoon at Wisconsin Dells High School.
“We’re so happy for Olivia,” said Cuba City head coach Jason Derby. “When you tear an ACL in the offseason, the natural — and usually correct — reaction is that the next season is out of question. The way the timing worked, and the way Olivia worked gave her a chance to return, but it was never a guarantee. For her to break the scoring record with the ACL injury while distributing the ball the way she does makes it all the more impressive. So much hard work has gone into that accomplishment.”
Olson now has 1,614 career points heading into Thursday's D4 State semifinal matchup against No. 1 seed Racine Prairie School (26–2). The No. 4 seed Cubans will face the Hawks at 6:35 p.m Thursday. The other side of the D4 bracket is No. 2 seed St. Mary’s Catholic (25–3) against No. 3 seed Durand-Arkansaw (23–5).
HONORABLE MENTION (in alphabetical order):
Keaton Dempsey, Jr., G, Mineral Point boys basketball
Dempsey had the hot hand Saturday night with a game-high 23 points on 8 of 10 shooting, along with four rebounds and three steals, to lead the #2-ranked Pointers (26–1) to a 83–43 blowout win over Lancaster (18–8) in a WIAA Division 4 regional final. Dempsey had a team-high 20 points and three rebounds a night earlier in a 79–36 regional semifinal win over No. 8 seed Iowa–Grant (8–18).
Aiden Keleher, Jr., G, Southwestern boys basketball
Keleher poured in a game-high 26 points to lead the No. 1 seeded Wildcats (22–5) to a commanding 71–56 victory over No. 4 seed Barneveld (20–7) in a WIAA Division 5 regional final last Saturday night. Keleher had eight points in Friday's regional semifinal win over Shullsburg Friday night and stuffed the stat sheet with 17 points, six rebounds, six steals and four assists in last Tuesday's 86–47 opening round victory over Rio.
Nathan Mumm, Sr., SG, Platteville boys basketball
Mumm made five first-half 3-pointers and finished with 18 points on 6 of 12 from beyond the arc in SWC champion Platteville's 75–56 victory over SWC rival River Valley (14–13) in last Saturday's WIAA Division 3 regional final. Mumm and the No. 1 seed Hillmen (19–7) will face No. 2 Wisconsin Dells (21–5) in a D3 sectional semifinal Thursday night at Richland Center at 7 p.m.
Myron Reuter, So., PG, Platteville boys basketball
Reuter sliced up River Valley's 2–3 zone to the tune of 23 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists in last Saturday's WIAA Division 3 regional final to lead the Hillmen (19–7) to a 75–56 victory. Reuter and the No. 1 seed Hillmen (19–7) will face No. 2 Wisconsin Dells (21–5) in a D3 sectional semifinal Thursday night at Richland Center at 7 p.m.
Dawson Weber, Sr., SF, Potosi boys basketball
Weber erupted for a career-high 34 points on 15 of 19 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds in No. 1 seed Potosi's 85–47 victory over Wonewoc–Center in the opening round of last week's WIAA Division 5 regional playoffs. Last Friday night, he finished with 19 points, six rebounds and five assists in a 74–51 regional semifinal victory over Seneca. Weber ended his career with an 18-point, 7-rebound, 3-assist game in Saturday night's 66–59 regional final loss to No. 4 seed North Crawford (25–2).
