March Madness: NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament will Feature 22 Former Wisconsin High School Standouts

Kamora “KK” Arnold was Ms Basketball in Wisconsin in 2023 and finished her prep career with 2,458 points, which is twelfth most all-time at this point. She also won a state title as a sophomore. As a freshman at UConn she was named to the Big East All-Freshman Team. She started 32 games as a freshman, 0 as a sophomore, and all 31 during this junior campaign. This year she’s averaged 7.5 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game and was named to the First Team and All-Defensive Team in the Big East.

Christian was a WBCA All-State selection as a senior and led the Orioles to the state tournament during her junior campaign. She’s Hartford’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder. Her 2,522 career points is ninth all-time in state history for points scored in a career. Christian has played in 26 games for the Gophers, averaging 4.9 points in 11.8 minutes per game. She scored her season high 23 points in her college debut against North Dakota.

Duffney didn’t play her senior year at Preble due to an ACL injury, though she did finish her prep career with over 1,000 points. After graduation she attended South Dakota where she redshirted her freshman season and started 61 games over the past three seasons with the Coyotes. Duffney has started all 33 games for the Phoenix this year, averaging 8.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game.

Grocholski was a four-time WBCA All-State selection and is a two-time state champion out of Kettle Moraine. She finished her prep career with 2,294 points which is 20th all-time in state history. As a freshman at Minnesota, Grocholski was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman team while earning Honorable Mention as a sophomore. Grocholski has started every game since she stepped foot on the campus, with 102 consecutive starts and 1,240 points. This season she’s averaging 12.7 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game. Grocholski was named to the Second Team All-Big Ten by both the coaches and the media.

Grzesk is a three-time state champion out of Notre Dame that earned multiple all-state honors. She’s the Triton’s all-time leading scorer with 1,835 career points. Grzesk committed to Wisconsin out of high school, but appeared in just 16 games last season for the Badgers before transferring north. Grzesk has played in all 33 games with 8 starts for the Phoenix. She’s averaged 6.5 points with a season high of 20 points coming in a game against North Carolina State.

Hansford was a part of the state runner-up Patriots squad in 2022 and finished with over 1,200 points at East. She played her first two years at Oregon State where she started 50 games before spending last season at Iowa State where she played in 32 games for the Cyclones. Hansford has played just 117 minutes in 22 games this season for the Phoenix.

Hartwig was a double-double machine in high school, as she averaged 19 points and 15 rebounds per game as a senior, earning all-state honors. Her freshman and sophomore seasons in college were spent at Evansville where she started 59 games and averaged 16.5 points and 9.2 rebounds per game a season ago. This season Hartwig has started 22 games and is averaging 5.5 points and 5.5 rebounds for the Jackrabbits.

Jensen was a 1,000 point scorer at Brookfield Academy and is in her second season at Notre Dame. During her two years, she’s played 46 minutes in 21 games. This season she scored a high of 3 points in a win over FDU.

Mallegni is the all-time leader in points, points in a season, and points in a game at McFarland and led the Spartans to the state tournament in her junior year. Her 2,470 career points is 11th on the all-time list in state history. Mallegni appeared in 30 games last season for the Hawkeyes and averaged 3.2 points per game. She’s missed a handful of games this season due to injury but had a season high 10 points in a win back in Wisconsin in early March.

Messling averaged 16.7 points per game as a senior and was an honorable mention all-state selection as a senior. Her freshman season at Western Illinois was effected by an injury and she played in just 19 games as a redshirt freshman last year. Messling has not appeared in a game this year for the Leathernecks.

Ouimette, along with younger sister and teammate in Green Bay Kristina, led Lakeland to the state tournament as a senior. She was a three-time Player of the year in the Great Northern and a two-time all-state honoree. Ouimette had 2,349 career points at Lakeland, good enough for 17th all-time in state history. She played at Lehigh as a freshman two seasons ago, appearing in just five games, but transferred to Green Bay in 2024 and redshirt last year. This year she’s tallied 60 minutes played in 18 games with a high of 10 points in a win over UW-Stevens Point.

Kristina joins her sister at Green Bay and finished ahead of her sister in career points, 2,522, which is tied for ninth all-time in state history. As a true freshman this season, Kristina has played in all 33 games and has averaged 5.8 points per game.

Peppler was a 1,200 point scorer, all-state selection, and Ms Basketball in 2022 at Hortonville before committing to Milwaukee after graduation. She spent the last three years with the Panthers, starting 72 games and averaging nearly ten points per game. Both Kamy and her younger sister Kallie transferred to Green Bay this year. Kamy started all 33 games this year and averaged 6.5 points and 4.6 assists per game.

Kallie missed a chunk of her prep career due to injury but was a part of the 2023 state tournament team. She also transfers from Milwaukee to Green Bay with older sister Kamy after she played in all 32 games and averaged 3.1 points per game a season ago. This year Kallie has played just 103 minutes in 13 games, scoring a season high 10 points in a game with Northern Kentucky.

Petersen was a two-time state tournament athlete, winning gold during her junior year. She finished with 1,903 career points at Waupun, second all-time. As a freshman with Virginia Tech last year she had two starts in 32 games played and averaged 4.2 points and 2.9 rebounds. This year Petersen has played in 31 games with one start, averaging 2.2 points and 2.8 rebounds per game.

Schmidt scored 1,878 points and also added 1,085 rebounds in her four years at Watertown Luther Prep. In her freshman season at Cal-Baptist she was named second team All-WAC. Her sophomore year was cut short, but she’s started 88 games over her career at Cal-Baptist, tallying 1,184 points. This season she’s played in 23 games with 21 starts and is averaging 10.0 points and 5.3 rebounds per game and named to the All-WAC Second Team.

Schultz was a three-time all-state selection while playing at West and amassed 1,666 career points for the Vikings. She redshirted her freshman year of college and appeared in 22 games a season ago. This year Schultz burst onto the season, starting all 33 games and averaging 12.5 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. She was a Third Team All-Horizon League honoree.

Stremlow was an all-state selection as a senior, helped lead Verona to a state tournament as a freshman, but missed a lot of that freshman season and all of her sophomore year due to injury. As a true freshman last season, she played in 34 games with two starts, averaging 2.4 points per game. This year Stremlow has started 16 of 32 games played, averaging 8.2 points and over four assists per game.

Terrian was Ms Basketball in Wisconsin a season ago and was a part of three straight state tournament teams, including a state championship as a junior. She is Pewaukee’s all-time leading scorer with 1,812 points. Amy is joined at Michigan State with her twin sister Anna. This year Amy has appeared in 21 games and averaged 4.1 points per game.

Anna was also a three-time state attendee and one time champion at Pewaukee. She scored over 1,000 points with the Pirates. As a freshman this year, she’s played in just 9 games, likely redshirting as she hasn’t played since December 21.

Wilson had a great career at Hortonville, helping the Polar Bears to the state tournament as a sophomore. She finished her prep career with 2,046 points, the most in school history. As a true freshman this season, she’s appeared in 23 games and averaged 3.8 points per game, with four double-digit point outputs.

Ziebell won Ms Basketball as a senior in 2024, leading Neenah to a state runner-up finish. She was a multiple all-state honoree and finished her prep career with a school record 2,819 points, which is the fourth most in state history. She played in 33 games as a true freshman last season, averaging 2.8 points per game. This year Ziebell has played in 32 games with two starts, averaging 7.6 points and 1.7 rebounds per game. She had a monster 34 point game in which she made 10 of 14 triples in 29 minutes.