EDITOR'S NOTE: The Swnews4u.com Athlete of the Week is a web-only feature that will publish each Thursday throughout the calendar year.
By Jason Nihles, The Platteville Journal / Boscobel Dial / Fennimore Times
Erin Knowles, Jr., G/F, Bosocbel girls basketball
DE SOTO — A game-high 23 points, 14 rebounds, eight assists and eight steals — a stellar stat line turned in by Boscobel junior Erin Knowles propelled the Lady Bulldogs to a dominating 58–28 victory over De Soto last Tuesday night.
Boscobel also turned in a magnificent defensive effort in the non-conference rout.
“We used our defensive pressure to jump out to an early lead,” said Boscobel head coach Erik Kinney. “Our defense created 36 turnovers. We did a nice job of building a big lead and got a lot of players into the game. Erin, Katie, Kennedy, Grace and Makenzie did a great job in the 3/4-court defense to create early scoring opportunities that created a nice first half lead.”
Knowles scored 17 of her 23 points in the first half to stake the Bulldogs to an insurmountable 38–13 halftime lead.
“Our girls did a nice job jumping out to an early lead and maintaining the lead throughout the second half of the game,” added Kinney. “We played pretty well as a team. We did a nice job finishing our fast break opportunities. We need to eliminate some of our unforced turnovers and shoot a better percentage from the field and free throw line as the season progresses. The girls are working hard in practice and are off to a nice start this season.”
Knowles, who was a first-team All-SWAL selection a year ago, also finished with 21 points, 13 rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks in a 58–24 victory over Seneca Tuesday night.
Knowles scored 11 of her game-high 21 points, grabbed nine rebounds and had six steals and three assists to lead the Bulldogs (2–0) to a 31–14 second-half comeback in a 50–41 season-opening victory over visiting River Valley, Nov. 17.
HONORABLE MENTION (in alphabetical order)
Rose French, Jr., F, Fennimore girls basketball
French finished with a game-high 18 points and 13 rebounds, including 10 on the offensive end, in a 43–40 victory at River Ridge Monday, Nov. 21. She then scored 13 of her game-high 17 points in the second half, including Fennimore’s first five points of the final 18 minutes, and made a pair of free throws with less than two minutes to play that kept the host Cardinals at bay in a 53–41 non-conference win at Highland this past Monday night.
Brady Larson, Sr., PG, Fennimore boys basketball
Larson scored a game-high 21 points on an efficient 7 of 14 shooting, which included a breakaway two-handed jam, to go with six rebounds, four steals and three assists to lead the Golden Eagles to a 50–43 win over three-time defending Six Rivers West champion River Ridge. He also overcame a wrist injury and a tough shooting night scored a game-high 22 points on 7 of 19 shooting, and had seven rebounds and seven steals in a 50–41 non-conference victory over Barneveld last Saturday night.
J.J. Berendes, Sr., G, Shullsburg boys basketball
Berendes poured in a career-high 33 points to lead the Miners to a 68–49 victory at Warren, Ill. in Saturday's season-opener. Shullsburg is coming off a 4–17 season and hopes this weekend's first victory can propel the team to an improved record this winter.
Max Lucey, Sr., G, Cuba City boys basketball
Lucey made 19 of 22 from the free throw line and pumped in a career- and game-high 34 points in Cuba City's 74–69 win over Wisconsin Rapids Friday at the Just A Game Field House in Wisconsin Dells. A day later, Lucey scored a team-high 22 points in a 69–53 loss to Cudahy.