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Girls Basketball Alumni Round-up: February 8th

02/08/2019, 7:30pm CST
By Colton Wilson

Many high school basketball standouts in Wisconsin go on to big things at the college level and in the pros, and this is our spot to recognize those athletes each week and help you keep up with what is going down on some of your favorite players from the past. If you have alumni news, please send it to Colton Wilson by 6 p.m. on Tuesdays.

Alumni Update

What a week it was in Wisconsin as the weather wiped clean almost a full week of basketball games. With all that commotion, the alumni from the Badger state took center stage around the country.

Taylor Higginbotham had a week to remember for Western Illinois. The Germantown graduate led the Leathernecks to a pair of Summit League victories while setting records and garnering awards along the way. In Western Illinois’ 111-90 win over North Dakota, Taylor had 23 points and 7 rebounds. She followed that up with 27 points and 9 rebounds in an 82-70 victory over North Dakota State. Coming into the NDSU game, Taylor needed only 9 points to become the school’s all-time leading scorer. She obviously surpassed that and sits at 1,715 career points, a new school record. Taylor was also named the Summit League Player of the Week to cap off an incredible few days.

Taylor Drost also took home Player of the Week honors in the Northern Sun as she helped Minnesota State-Mankato to a pair of victories. The DSHA grad scored a career high 24 points while adding 8 rebounds and 2 blocks in a 76-70 win over Minnesota State-Moorhead. Taylor followed that up with 16 points and 4 rebounds in a 54-40 win over Northern State.

In other Northern Sun play, Rachel Novotny recorded a double-double in Winona State’s 55-53 win over St. Cloud State. Rachel, a New Berlin West grad, scored 12 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. No points were bigger than Rachel’s game-winner with 7 seconds left to seal the victory.

Hannah Whitish was a force to be reckoned with as Nebraska beat Purdue 84-64 last week. The 2016 Miss Wisconsin recipient and Barneveld alum, had a season high 28 points and 12 assists in the win. Hannah shot 6 of 10 from beyond the arc for the Cornhuskers.

In other Big Ten play, Megan Gustafson broke a pair of records as she continues to shine in her senior year. The South Shore grad averaged 27 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocks for Iowa en route to being name Big Ten Player of the Week yet again. This was Megan’s tenth POW honors on the season and twentieth overall. Both of those are records.

The Kelliher sisters of Waukesha North High School put together some great performances this past week in Division 2 play.

Elizabeth shot a perfect 8 of 8 from the field, en route to 21 points, as she led Michigan Tech to a 67-59 win over Purdue Northwest. She then added 17 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 blocks in a 60-47 win. Elizabeth shot 8 of 10 in that win.

Jessica, Elizabeth’s sister, came one rebound short of a 20-20 game as Lewis College beat Illinois Springfield 67-53. She had 29 points and 19 rebounds in the win and currently is sixth in all of Division 2 basketball in scoring.

Bradley University’s Chelsea Brackmann did something Jessica fell just short of. She scored a season high 24 points while hauling in 20 rebounds in a 69-56 win over Loyola Chicago. This was the New Berlin Eisenhower grad’s second 20-20 game of the season.

Ellie Harmeyer put together back to back double-double performances to lead Belmont to a pair of wins. She Shoreland Lutheran grad had 16 points and 14 rebounds in a 91-57 win over Southeast Missouri. She followed that up with 30 points and 10 rebounds in a 100-86 in over UT Martin. Ellie was named the Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Week.

Ellie wasn’t the only player to put up back-to-back double-double performances and earn player of the week recognition. Maggie Oimoen of Barneveld started the week off with 19 points and 11 rebounds as Ripon College beat Lake Forest College 64-53. She followed that up with 23 points and 11 rebounds in a 63-51 win over Lawrence University. Her double-doubles helped Ripon gain first place in the Midwest Conference and for that she was awarded the Player of the Week.

Northern Illinois had to rely on Kettle Moraine Lutheran’s Mikayla Voigt and Arrowhead’s Ally May in clutch spots to put away Eastern Michigan 68-65 in overtime. May hit the game-tying layup with 30 seconds left to force the overtime period. In overtime it was Voigt’s turn as she made the go-ahead layup with 8 seconds left to put NIU up for good. Mikayla finished with a team high 20 points, while Ally had 8 points and 10 rebounds.

Cardinal Stritch has many athletes from the state of Wisconsin on their roster. Kelli Schrauth is now the all-time scoring leader of them all. The St. Mary's Springs graduate scored 22 points in an 86-45 wino ver Trinity Christian. She shot 10 of 12 from the field in the win. That wasn’t the big story however. Kelli became the school’s all-time leading scorer in the win. She currently sits at 1,897 points in her collegiate career.

Shay Frederick had quite the day as Valparaiso beat Bradley 76-73. The Hortonville grad had 21 points and 8 assists to will her team to victory. Shay hit the game-clinching free throws with four seconds left to ensure victory.

Lastly, Emma Meriggioli was extremely efficient from the floor as she helped Cal Baptist to a pair of victories. The Madison Edgewood High School alum first had 21 points and 6 assists in an 83-54 win over Utah Valley. She followed that up with 15 points and 9 assists in a 100-83 win over Seattle University. Emma shot a combined 11 of 14 from the field in the two wins.

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