Four versatile Black Hawks honored by NSC

The Grafton High School girls’ basketball team heavily relied on its juniors this season, and four of them were honored by North Shore Conference coaches.

Guard Cali Tagliapietra was named to the first team after ranking among the leaders in most major statistical categories in the league that featured the state champion Whitefish Bay and sectional finalist Hartford.

Tagliapietra was fifth in the NSC in scoring, averaging 15.9 points per game, third in assists with three per game, fifth in rebounds with seven per game and fourth in steals with 3.2 per game. She was third in three-point percentage, sinking 39.9% of her shots, and her 46% overall shooting from the field was second to Rowan Counsell among players who took more than 10 shots per game.

“Because she’s so quick and agile, she’s very shifty. She’s very hard to guard in the open floor for one, and she’s really hard to stay in front of when she’s driving to the basket,” coach Matt D’Amato said of Tagliapietra.

“And she shot well from the outside. It’s kind of like a pick-your-poison-type of thing. She’s always been a pretty good three-point shooter. This year that took a big jump. It’s a testament to her hard work.”

Tagliapietra also stepped up in another way.

“She’s taken the leadership role pretty seriously this year, which is good. It’s one of the things we were challenging her to do,” D’Amato said. “She has a no-nonsense approach. ‘All right guys time to lock in.’”

Junior guard/forward Ava Dotson was named to the second team, mostly for her defense.

“She can guard just about anybody,” D’Amato said, praising Dotson’s length that allows her to handle taller players and force guards to jump over her.

Defense, he said, is more than about size and skill.

“That’s an effort thing. That’s a will on the inside. It shows the spirit she’s got.”

She was second on the team in scoring, averaging 10.8 points per game, 16th in the league. Her 1.2 blocks per game was second in the conference and her 2.7 assists per game tied for fifth. She averaged 4.1 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game.

“She’s just a freak athlete. She can do so many different things, can go right or left and finish with her right or left hand. Her shot selections continued to improve and she was getting herself some better looks in the paint. With the patience, you start seeing the assists go up,” D’Amato said.

“She’s a competitive one as well. She definitely likes to have a good time and joke around, but she can be on both sides of the spectrum, and you’d be afraid to go against her.”

Guard/forward Melanie Morgan and guard Brynlee Hildebrand each earned honorable mention.

Morgan averaged 9.3 points per game, right behind Dotson for 17th in the NSC, and Hildebrand averaged 9.2 and was 18th.

Morgan shot 40% from the field and 31% on three-pointers.

“Her three-point shot started to come back toward the end of the season. She brought it up 3 to 4% down the stretch,” D’Amato said.

In another part of her game, Morgan followed in the footsteps of her older sister Marissa, who hit the boards.

“While she was struggling (shooting), she was a rebounding machine,” D’Amato said.

Morgan averaged 6.4 rebounds per game, second on the team and eighth in the NSC.

“Melanie is really good at reading angles off the shot. The fact that’s she’s not 6-1 doesn’t affect ability to rebound. If it’s a long rebound, she chases it down with her motor. Hustle like that is hard to teach,” D’Amato said.

She averaged 2.4 assists and 1.5 steals per game, and her offense is starting to round out.

“She’s developing a post and inside presence we’re hoping to utilize and develop a little more for her senior season. She understands where the ball is and where to seal off the defender. It’s a fun new aspect of her game,” D’Amato said.

Hildebrand entered the season after shooting nearly 40% on three-pointers last year.

“When she started the season, she felt like that’s what she was — it’s not. Then she started attacking, getting to the free throw line,” D’Amato said. “When she’s not focused on three point shooting, then the three-pointers start to fall.”

Hildebrand averaged 2.6 assists per game, seventh in the NSC, along with 2.9 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game.

“Defensively, she did really well this year. She did a much better job of keeping players in front of her than last year,” D’Amato said.

Grafton went 8-4 and finished third behind Whitefish Bay and Hartford (each 11-1) in the NSC. The Black Hawks were 20-6 overall and advanced to the regional final.

D’Amato is thrilled to get his fantastic four back next season and hopes junior Lily Verplancke can join them in some accolades.

Knowing he will have a talented senior-heavy squad, D’Amato scheduled games against larger schools with quality programs, including Division 1 state champion Arrowhead, Kettle Moraine, Germantown and Madison Memorial to toughen his team for the postseason.