EDITOR'S NOTE: The Swnews4u.com Athlete of the Week is a web-only feature that will publish each Thursday throughout the calendar year.
Abby Kasier, Jr., G, Potosi girls basketball
Junior guard Abby Kaiser is this week’s Mast Water Technology Athlete of the Week for the second time this season after breaking the Potosi single-game scoring record with 39 points in a near quadruple performance and scoring 95 points in four games in the last week while leading the Chieftains to three victories during that stretch.
Kaiser poured in a new career-high 39 points last on 15 of 22 shooting to break the single-game school record to lead the Chieftains to an 82–55 non-conference victory over visiting Albany last Tuesday. She added a team-high 11 rebounds, nine steals and seven assists for good measure. Kaiser broke the previous school record of 36 points set by Potosi's all-time leading scorer Jamie Nebel, that was set during the 1998–99 season.
“The most impressive thing to me about Abby’s performance is that on a night when she set the school record for points scored in a game we had three other girls score in double figures and Abby was second on the team with seven assists,” said Potosi head coach Brad Bierman. “She also scored 39 points on only 22 total field goal attempts.”
Three nights later Kaiser had 18 points, nine rebounds and four steals to lead the Chieftains to a 42–35 victory over Cassville, avenging an earlier loss to the Comets. Kaiser again led the way with 18 points in a non-conference loss at East Dubuque on Saturday night. Tuesday night she scored a game-high 20 points to lead Potosi (8–8) to a 57–38 non-conference victory at Argyle.
Kasier is currently second in the Six Rivers West in scoring at 20.5 points per game. Potosi will host Six Rivers West-leading Shullsburg (12–3, 8–0 SRW) tonight at 7:30 p.m.
HONORABLE MENTION (in alphabetical order):
Reid Larson, Jr., Fennimore boys basketball
Larson scored a game-high 29 points, including six 3 pointers, to lead the Golden Eagles to a 61–55 win at Lancaster last Tuesday night. Larson again led the way on Friday with 14, but it wasn’t enough in a 71–42 conference loss to undefeated Darlington. Larson and the Eagles did hang with the Redbirds until the 10-minute mark in the second half. Larson leads Fennimore in scoring at 17.6 points per game.
Joey Meyer, Sr., C, Shullsburg boys basketball
Meyer joined the 1,000-point club at Shullsburg High School, as the Miners defended their #1 state ranking for the first time by knocking off the host Potosi Chieftains 67-43 in a Six Rivers West boys’ basketball game on Thursday. Meyer netted his 1,000th career point on a left-handed baby hook in the lane with 3:51 left in the first half and went on score eight more points in the game to finish the night with 1,008 career points and help lead the Miners to their 14th win in a row. He is just the sixth basketball player, boy or girl, in school history to achieve the 1,000-point career benchmark.
Devin Schmitz, Jr., G, Richland Center boys basketball
The junior guard scored 18 points and surpassed the 1,000-point plateau while helping the Hornets defeated visiting Iowa–Grant 62–56 in a non-conference win Tuesday night. Schmitz currently leads the conference in scoring at 22.1 points per game, while averaging 4.6 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals per game, while shooting 92 percent (105 of 114) from the free throw line and 51 percent (27 of 53) from the 3-point line.
Dillon Shinee, Sr., F, Platteville boys basketball
Shinee scored a game-high 21 points on just nine shots and added a team-high eight rebounds in Platteville’s 69–55 victory over River Valley last Friday night. He then posted a double–double of 12 points and 11 boards in a 62–41 win over Iowa–Grant on Saturday and scored a team-high 18 points in a 70–44 non-conference win over Cuba City on Monday night. Shinee is averaging 10.8 points, a team-high 7.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.
Devin Wagner, So., PG, Lancaster girls basketball
Wagner scored a game-high 14 points and had five steals to lead the Flying Arrows (9–6) to their fourth straight win Monday night, a 54–18 non-conference victory over River Ridge. Last Friday Wagner had nine points, five steals and a team-high five assists in a dominating 52–11 victory at Prairie du Chien. Last Thursday she posted nine points, four assists and three steals in a 45–41 win at Dodgeville and last Tuesday, Wagner scored a game-high 15 points in a 64–28 win at Cassville. Wagner is averaging 12 points, 4.1 steals and 3.2 assists per game.
