EDITOR'S NOTE: The Swnews4u.com Athlete of the Week is a web-only feature that will publish each Thursday throughout the calendar year.
Nataile Leuzinger, Sr., F, Black Hawk girls basketball
SOUTH WAYNE — When Natalie Leuzinger started playing varsity basketball at Black Hawk as a freshman, the scoring record held by form er Warriors standout Jen Wellnitz seemed like an unattainable number. However, after scoring her 1,000th point last year during her junior season, Leuzinger knew the record was within reach.
At home on Tuesday, Jan. 21, the Lady Warriors’ scoring record became hers after tallying a game-high 18 points to lead #1-ranked Black Hawk over Barneveld, 75–19, in Six Rivers East girls’basketball action.
Leuzinger scored her third point of the game on a free throw at the 15:27 mark of the first half to eclipse the record of 1,580 points scored by Wellnitz during her playing career at Black Hawk from 2010–14.
“I never thought I’d get to this point. When I reached my thousandth points last year, I knew I had a chance to break it my senior year, but it’scrazy that I did it,” said Leuzinger, who currently has 1,615 career points and is just 48 points from overtaking Conner Meyer as Black Hawk’s all-time leading scorer for girls and boys. It shows all my hard work I’ve put in. And, this record is not just about me. My teammates are the ones who are finding me open and getting me the ball in position to score, so this is about them, too.”
Black Hawk head coach Michael Flanagan echoed her words, and added the consistency she has shown on the court over the past four seasons has been key to her success as well as the success of the team.
“She’s worked really hard to get here. I’m sure she’d be the first to say her teammates deserve a lot of the credit as well,” noted Flanagan. It’s a mark that when Jen set it, you didn’t know that you’re going to have another player come along to take that record down. Natalie had to play in a lot of games to get there.”
Leuzinger finished the first half with 13 points and fellow senior Hannah Butler added 14 points as the Warriors charged out to a 47–7 halftime lead. Leuzinger also scored a game-high 19 points Saturday as the Warriors extended their state-best winning streak to 42 games with a 59–55 non-conference victory over Mineral Point.
HONORABLE MENTION:
Kellen Kenney, Sr., PG, Fennimore boys basketball
The shifty senior point guard torched the Arrows in Monday’s 77–65 non-conference victory, posting a season-high 27 points. He did it all to lift the 8th-ranked Golden Eagles (13–2) to a fifth-straight win in a rough-and-tumble neighborly battled that resembled a football game at times. Kenney also locked down Lancaster leading scorer Dawson Bowen, holding him to 4 for 18 shooting until the closing minutes when he scored Lancaster’s final five points. Bowen scored just two in the first half with Kenney hounding him, as the host Eagles built a 39–26 lead halftime.
Conversely, Kenney was an unguardable force with the ball in his hands. He made 13 of 21 field goal attempts, passed out nine of Fennimore’s 12 assists and grabbed a game-high 16 rebounds.
Kenney had 15 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in a 77–47 win over Iowa–Grant last Tuesday night, and posted 11 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds in a 70–37 win at Southwestern last Friday night. The versatile Kenney needs just two rebounds in Thursday night's SWAL game at Boscobel to join the exclusive 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 500 assists for his career!
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