Wisconsin High School Sports | Wisconsin Sports Network | WisSports.net

Below are the nominees for the Army National Guard Athlete of the Week for the week of March 5th through March 11th.  Voting is below and will be open until Thursday at 4:00pm with the winner announced Friday morning.

Larry Fitzgerald, Pius XI boys basketball – The second-seeded Popes of Division 2 advanced to the state tournament for only the second time in school history last week after defeating Whitnall and Milwaukee Washington in the sectional semi-finals and finals, respectively.  The Popes will face the No. 1-ranked team in the division, Onalaska, in the state tournament semi-finals this Friday at the Kohl Center.  In the Whitnall game Fitzgerald was second on the team in scoring with 21 points; senior Carrington Love led the game with 26.  With Love facing match up problems in the Washington game, Fitzgerald took on the top-scoring duties, going for a game-high 28 points.  He scored 20 points in the second half, including 15 of the Popes' 17 points in the third quarter. 

Brett Minick, DeForest boys basketball– The Norskies reached the state tournament for the first time in school history this past weekend when they defeated two No.1 seeds in the Janesville Craig Sectional.  DeForest (18-8) will face top-seeded Kaukauna in the semi-finals this Friday at the Kohl Center.  Minick, a 5-foot-11 guard, had only scored 17 points in the Norskies' first three playoff games, including only 6 in a sectionals semi-finals win over Waunakee, but saved his best for last.  Literally.  With less than six seconds left on the clock against Stoughton, and the game tied at 39, the junior sank a 17-footer as time expired.  The basket was only the second of the night for Minick, he ended the game with four points.

Brendan Ortiz, Madison Memorial boys basketball – The Spartans will be heading to the WIAA state tournament for the ninth consecutive year, the longest streak since 1928 (La Crosse Central), and will face undefeated Germantown this Friday in Madison.  Madison Memorial (25-1) enters the semi-finals match up with the Warhawks on a 15-game winning streak, including two sectional wins last week against Sun Prairie and Mukwonago.  Ortiz, the late-game hero for the Spartans last year in the state championship win against De Pere, was unstoppable in the Sun Prairie game, dropping a career-high 29 points on the third-seed Cardinals.  The 6-foot-1 junior hit a three-pointer at the end of the half to tie-up the game and added a three-point play near the end of regulation to put the game away.  He only scored five points in the Spartans' 57-52 win over the Indians Saturday night.

Meg Riebau, Appleton North girls basketball – The fourth-seeded Lightning upset their way to the Wisconsin Rapid sectional semi-finals this week after taking down #1 Stevens Point.  Appleton North swamped Panthers' center Morgan Cebula all game, limiting the senior to just five points.  Riebau, a junior, was at the head of the attack on SPASH leading to a 28-16 lead going into the fourth; she finished with a game-high 15 points.  The 5-foot-7 guard also had 15 points in North's 51-43 victory over Fond du Lac last Friday.

Sydney Tepley, Racine St. Catherine's girls basketball – The Angels upset the top-ranked and top-seeded Dominican Knights over the weekend to advance to the sectional semi-finals.  They limited top scorers Dilonna Johnson and Allazia Blockton to 12 and 14 points, respectively, and outscored the Knights 23-18 in the forth quarter.  Tepleu was the leading scorer, as she has been all season, with 26 points, including 14 free throws.  Her fourteenth free throw put the Angels ahead for good with less than a minute left in regulation.