Arrowhead takes home girls basketball team of the week honors after thriller over Neenah

AREA RANKINGS

Team (W-L), last week

1. Pewaukee (7-0), 1

2. Arrowhead (5-0), 2

3. Hartford (6-0), 3

4. Catholic Memorial (7-0), 4

5. Kettle Moraine Lutheran (6-1), 7

6. Brookfield East (5-2), 8

7. Homestead (3-2), 5

8. Muskego (7-1), –

9. Greenfield (6-1), –

10. Living Word Lutheran (4-0), –

Others considered: Brookfield Academy (4-1), Dominican (4-2), DSHA (5-2), Germantown (4-2), Kettle Moraine (5-2), Mukwonago (4-2), Oak Creek (4-1), St. Thomas More (4-1), The Prairie School (5-2) and Wauwatosa East (5-1).

TEAM OF THE WEEK

Arrowhead

There's more to the Warhawks as it shows in their perfect 5-0 start this season, but if you have the time, you need to go see Natalie Kussow play basketball. In the Warhawks' five victories, Kussow has four performances with 25-plus points, including a stellar 47-point outing against Edgewood on Dec. 2. She also dropped 30 points in a nail-biting 69-68 victory over Neenah last week. The point totals stand out, but so does the efficiency. She's made 57 of her 92 total shots. That's 62% from the field and 44.4% from three-point range on 27 attempts.

It's not just Kussow that has the Warhawks humming as the holidays approach. As a unit, Arrowhead has dished out 59 total assists to just 16 turnovers and outrebounded its five opponents, 144-82. It has also racked up 20 more steals (45-25) than its five opponents. Erica Bub, the Warhawks' second-leading scorer behind Kussow, scored 18 points with four triples in the win over Neenah, which got 39 points from Ms. Basketball candidate Allie Ziebell in the defeat.

COMING UP

Hartford at Homestead, 5:30 p.m. Tuesday: When it comes to the North Shore Conference title race, look no further than the first matchup between these two programs. Hartford heads to Homestead in a battle of not only the two best teams in the conference, but the two best players. Makena Christian and Madison Fitzgibbon are worth the price of admission for this showdown.

Oak Creek at Kettle Moraine, 7 p.m. Tuesday: In a non-conference matchup between two programs looking to build some momentum as conference season approaches, Oak Creek hits the road to face defending Division 1 state champion Kettle Moraine, which has won five of its first seven games in the first season under new coach Adam Stranc.

Muskego at Arrowhead, 7 p.m. Friday: Team of the week Arrowhead will host another tough challenger on Friday night. Muskego, winners of seven of its first eight games, has played solid basketball and should provide a stern test for the unbeaten hosts in Classic 8 Conference play. Add in Catholic Memorial's 7-0 start, and the top three teams in the conference are a combined 19-1 so far this season.

Brookfield East at DSHA, 7 p.m. Friday: The Spartans are still probably considered the favorites in the Greater Metro Conference title race, but this game has some importance in the chase for the crown. The Dashers have won five of their first seven games under new coach Sean Garczynski, who had been on the staff for the previous seven seasons. This matchup starts a four-game stretch for the Spartans through the holidays where they'll be on the road.

Lake Country Lutheran at Living Word Lutheran, 7:15 p.m. Saturday: Outside of its season-opening 39-37 victory over Random Lake, Living Word Lutheran hasn't been challenged much in its last three games. That'll change this weekend in a vital Midwest Classic Conference matchup with Lake Country Lutheran, which has dropped two straight to strong competition after a 5-0 start. Lake Country Lutheran wing Maddie Ratzow is fourth in the conference in scoring at 16.9 points per game and should give the Timberwolves all they can handle.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Area girls hoop rankings: Arrowhead wins team of the week