Jensen leads 2013 All-Area girls basketball team

By Jennifer Eisenbart

Sports Editor

Megan Jensen’s basketball season was almost over before it started.

A Waterford senior, Jensen looked to be a major component to the Wolverines’ success this year – until a blood clot in her arm and the resulting surgery and recovery time almost sidelined her.

The situation was so scary that there were times the family wondered if Jensen would be able to live a normal life, much less play basketball.

But Jensen worked her way through the recovery from the blood clot – and the surgery that removed a rib to keep the area from being susceptible again – and lead the Wolverines to a 13-10 record and a tie for second in the Southern Lakes Conference.

For that – and the kind of leadership abilities that led coach Dena Brechtl to give Jensen high praise – Jensen is the 2013 Southern Lakes Newspapers All-Area Player of the Year.

Jensen averaged 10.2 points per game, but as much as anything else, proved to be a highly effective point guard. She averaged 2.2 assists and 1.9 steals per game as well, but also ran the court for the Wolverines – allowing others to improve their point totals this year.

“Coaching kids like Megan Jensen makes my job easy,” said Waterford’s brechtl. “Not just because she was a great point guard, with wonderful ball control, that could also shoot it, but because she is so passionate about the game.

“She loves every minute of being on the floor.”

A lot of that love came from almost losing the game this past summer. Jensen’s arm became swollen and painful at a summer AAU tournament, and she found out two days later she had an eight-inch-long clot in her arm due to blood flow being pinched off.

She had surgery in July, and committed herself to her rehabilitation, along with the help of family, friends and coaches.

The experience led Jensen to a new love for the sport – and to place the following on her basketball shoes:

“Play every game as if it’s your last one,” the shoes read, and also the date of her diagnosis, 6-25-12.

Jensen recently inked a National Letter of Intent to play collegiately at Clarke University.

“She watches game film, looks for advice on how to get better, and gets in the gym whenever she can to play the game,” Brechtl said. “I am very proud of the success that Megan has had playing Waterford basketball, and I wish her the best of luck as she begins a new journey at Clarke University.”

The rest of the All-Area team:

First team

Madison Blair, so., Waterford Union High School:  After a solid freshman varsity season, Blair stepped up in a big way as a sophomore, finishing second on the team with 9.2 points per game, and also averaging 4.4 rebounds.

“Madison had a great sophomore year,” said Brechtl. “She knew we needed her to step up this year, and she did just that.

“She was a major part of our offense, and improved a great deal on the defensive end,” added Brechtl. Blair ended up averaging a block per game as well.

Alyssa Helwig, sr., Waterford Union High School: Helwig was the equivalent of a utility player for the Wolverines, doing a little bit of everything.

In addition to averaging 7.2 points per game, Helwig also had 2.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists (leading the team) and 1.7 steals per game.

“Alyssa is, without a doubt, one of the best athletes I have coached,” Brechtl said. “She is a very talented young lady in each sport she plays.

“Alyssa was often asked to guard the opposing team’s best player, in addition to (being) a major part of our offense,” Brechtl added.

Sarah Petrovic, sr., Union Grove Union High School: While Petrovic might not have had the huge offensive numbers of some others, her real talent was in rebounding the ball.

She broke the Broncos’ single-season rebounding record, pulling down 254 boards, and also set new records for offensive rebounds (103) and defensive rebounds (151).

That’s an average of 4.5 offensive rebounds, 6.57 defensive rebounds and 11.04 total rebounds per game.

“Halfway through the season, I told her that she only needed to average 13 rebounds a game to break the record, and she looked at me like I was crazy,” said UG coach Rob Domagalski. “She then made breaking the rebounding record her personal goal.

“I’m proud of her achievements and enjoyed coaching her the past two seasons.”

Petrovic also averaged 4.8 points per game.

Kelsey Robers, sr., Catholic Central: Robers actually ended up leading the scorers on the All-Area team this year, averaging 10.6 points per game on a young and inexperienced CCHS team.

Robers also averaged 2.9 assists, 1.3 steals and 6.3 rebounds per game.

“Kelsey is one of the hardest-working players I have ever coached,” said CCHS coach Jeff Behrens. “She works on her game all year round.

“She can see the floor extremely well and handle any kind of ball pressure with her ball-handling skills,” he added. “She really mentored the younger players and did a tremendous job of getting them involved.”

Robers was a team captain along with fellow senior Ali Wiemer.

Second team

Emily Golon, sr., Burlington High School: While Golon had a rough start to her season, she bounced back to averaged 8.0 points per game for BHS.

She also did a little bit of everything else on the court for the Demons. She averaged 2.7 rebounds per game, 1.5 assists and 1.8 steals per game.

“Great second half of the season,” said BHS coach Gordon Nikolic. “(She) helped control (the) other team’s press by making the right decision. Played solid basketball in finishing her career at BHS.”

      Becca Maier, so., Union Grove Union High School: Just a sophomore, Maier ended up leading the Broncos by averaging 8.7 points per game. She also had 2.7 rebounds per contest.

“Becca improved on her shooting this year, and she became a threat from beyond the arc,” said Domagalski. “As the year went on, she also improved her ability to attack the basket.”

Jenn Stevens, sr., Burlington High School: Stevens tied Golon with an average of 8.0 points per game, but also added 3.9 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.3 steals per game.

“Steady all year,” Nikolic described the senior. “Spent a lot of time working on her game. Great improvement all around.”

Kelly Strasser, sr., Waterford Union High School: Strasser spent most of her junior year filling in behind Waterford super senior Steffi Rank last year.

Given a chance to shine as a senior, Strasser led the team in rebounds with 6.3 per game, and also averaged 5.7 points and 1.1 steals per contest.

“This season, we needed her from game one and she did a great job of rising to the challenge,” Brechtl said.

Ali Wiemer, sr., Catholic Central High School: One of only two seniors on the team – and one of only three upperclassmen – Wiemer played an important leadership role.

“Ali had to fill several roles on the team,” said Behrens. “She did her best job at rebounding for our team.”

Wiemer averaged 7.0 rebounds per game, and also averaged 8.5 points. The senior also paced the team in 3-point shots, hitting 25 of 50 attempts.

Honorable mention

Sophie Foote, jr., Catholic Central High School; Jordan Weidner, so., Union Grove; Lacey Scherrer, Sr., Burlington; Tiffany Stiewe, so., Waterford; Jaycie Chart, sr., Waterford.