EDITOR'S NOTE: The Swnews4u.com Athlete of the Week is a web-only feature that will publish each Thursday throughout the calendar year.
Liam Kenney, Sr., G, Fennimore boys basketball
Senior Liam Kenney and the Fennimore boys’ basketball team are off to an incredibly hot 3–0 start. The senior guard averaged a team-high 17.3 points, 4.3 assists, 2.3 steals and 2 rebounds per game, while shooting a sizzling 81.5 percent from the field to lead the Golden Eagles to three straight wins to open the season.
Kenney scored 15 points and had four assists, three rebounds an two steals in a 78–31 season-opening win at Cassville last Tuesday. Last Friday night, he poured in a game-high 23 points on a perfect 9-for-9 from the field and had three assists, two steals and two blocks, and hit a pair of clutch free throws down the stretch in a 73–65 non-conference win over defending WIAA Division 5 state champion Barneveld. Kenney then scored 14 points and had six assists, three rebounds and three steals in a dominating 85–22 non-conference victory over Highland Tuesday night.
“We knew we were in for a tough game,” said Fennimore head coach Tom Needham. “Barneveld is the returning state champs in Division 5 and return two really good players from that team. I thought Liam did a good job on both ends of the floor for us all night. Our bench also played really well for us. Cole Needham, Trey Hunt, and Adam Larson all gave us good quality minutes during the game. Defensively in the second half I thought we played really well defensively. I thought Reid Larson did a really good job on one of their best players, Malcolm Reed.”
Kenney has made 22 of 27 field goal attempts so far this season, including 2 of 2 from behind the 3-point arc. Kenney and the Golden Eagles travel to River Ridge Thursday night and will open SWAL play Friday, Dec. 8 at home against Iowa–Grant.
HONORABLE MENTION (in alphabetical order):
Hannah Herbst, Sr., G, Black Hawk girls basketball
Herbst had 10 points, five steals, four rebounds and four assists in the Warriors’ 74–24 victory over Orfordville Parkview last Monday night.
Abby Kaiser, Sr., G/F, Potosi girls basketball
The high-scoring Kaiser poured in a game-high 33 points, grabbed seven rebounds and came up with 12 of Potosi’s 25 steals in a 63–16 non-conference victory over visiting Pecatonica last Tuesday night.
Jordan Reuter, Sr., G/F, Lancaster boys basketball
Reuter posted a near triple–double of 12 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists to lead the Lancaster boys to a season-opening 84–49 victory over visiting River Ridge Monday night.
Devin Schmitz, Sr., G, Richland Center boys basketball
Schmitz, who became a 1,000-point scorer a year ago, scored a game-high 31 points to lead the Hornets to a 57–42 non-conference victory over Westby last Tuesday night.
Brooks Tiedeman, Jr., G, Benton boys basketball
Tiedeman opened the season with a pair of 20-point efforts to led the Benton boys to a 2–0 start. He scored a game-high 23 points in the Zephyrs 61–37 victory over Warren (Ill.) after scoring a game-high 24 points in last Tuesday’s 73–42 season-opening victory over Albany.
