Eichler, Gosewehr head list of five Grafton honorees; Port Washington’s Tydrick, Hilton given special mention
Bob Maronde has had more than a few exceptional teams and players as the girls’ basketball coach at Grafton High School.
But in his 19 seasons with the Black Hawks’ varsity program, Maronde had never had five players recognized in All-North Shore Conference voting — until this year.
Led by the senior Hannah Eichler, the co-champion Black Hawks grabbed the lion’s share of honors in the coaches’ balloting.
Also for Grafton, junior Sam Gosewehr was named to the second team, and Amanda Hunt, Haley Orlowski and Kimmi Schacht received honorable mention.
“That’s amazing. It’s the first time in school history we’ve had five players chosen,” said Maronde, who guided the Hawks to a 12-2 league record, good for a share of the top spot with Nicolet and Whitefish Bay.
“All five of them led us in scoring in games at one time or another, so it points to the balance we had as a team.”
Representing Port Washington in the all-conference vote were Caity Tydrick and Mikayla Hilton, who both received honorable mention.
Eichler, 5-foot-11-inch guard, was arguably the league’s most versatile player. She averaged 13.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 4.3 steals per conference game and shot 57% from the field, capping a four-year varsity career with her best all-around season.
Eichler received All-NSC second-team honors last season.
“Hannah worked so hard this past year to get better and had an incredible season,” Maronde said. “She did it with great play at both ends of the court and within our team concept.”
In recognition of her play, Eichler was also named to the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association’s Division 2 All-State First Team and was chosen to play in the association’s Division 2 all-star game June 17 in Madison. She plans to join the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay women’s basketball program this fall as a walk-on player.
Gosewehr, a 6-foot forward, was Grafton’s strongest front-line player. She averaged 9.8 points and 8.8 rebounds and shot 44% from the field.
“Sam is strong, tall and fast and has the ability to score inside and out,” Maronde said. “All she needs is some more confidence and consistency.”
Hunt, a 6-foot sophomore, is the youngest of the Hawks’ all-conference honorees. She averaged 6.4 points and 3.9 rebounds and shot 53% from the floor.
“Amanda is probably the best shooter I’ve ever coached,” Maronde said. “She had the ability to score inside and step outside to hit the three-pointer.”
Orlowski, a 5-8 junior guard, gave Grafton a “great high-energy-type player,” Maronde said.
“She has a great ability to get to the basket and is an excellent defensive player.”
Orlowski shot 54% from the field and contributed 6.8 points, 2.8 assists and 3.1 steals per game.
Schacht, a 5-11 senior forward, capped a solid varsity career by averaging 15 points in the Hawks’ final five games. For the season, she averaged 7.5 points and 4.4 rebounds and shot 50% from the field.
“Kim did a great job of defending the post and really came on strong for us offensively at the end of the season,” Maronde said.
As a team, the Hawks shot 48% from the field in conference play and 54% for all games, in which they were 19-5.
“That’s a tribute to the girls’ shot selection and their ability to share the ball,” Maronde said. “They were really unselfish.”
Tydrick, a 5-6 senior guard, scored a team-high 9.8 points per game for Port, which finished 3-11 in NSC play. She also averaged 3.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists and shot 62% on free throws.
Although her best position was shooting guard, Tydrick was pressed into point duty and showed continued improvement.
“Caity accepted the responsibility and grew into the role as a floor leader,” Port coach Brian Johnson said. “She handled the position well and impressed a lot of the other coaches.”
Hilton, a 6-foot junior forward, averaged 5.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists. She used her ability to score inside and from the perimeter to become one of the Pirates’ offensive leaders.
“Mikayla had the ability to carry us at times. When she was good, she was very good,” Johnson said.
Johnson also praised senior Nicole Ziehm, who was nominated for all-conference honors but bypassed in the voting. Ziehm, a 6-1 center, averaged 8.5 points and 7.1 rebounds.
“Nicole had a solid senior season,” he said. “She played the best basketball of her career down the stretch for us.”
Joining Eichler on the all-league first team were Nicolet’s Brittney Fair and Courtney Smith and Whitefish Bay’s Lindsey Agnew and Maya Jonas.
Fair, a senior guard who averaged 21 points per game, was named Player of the Year.
Image Information: GRAFFTON’S HANNAH EICHLER was named to the All-North Shore Conference first team. Photo by Sam Arendt
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