Germantown's KK Arnold named The Associated Press state player of the year after leading young team in a long playoff run

Mark Stewart, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

March 26, 2022 at 1:36 AM·6 min read

Kamorea "KK" Arnold was named The Associated Press player of the year for the second straight season. The Germantown junior is a UConn recruit.

Imagine that it’s early in your freshman season and you look across the huddle and Kamorea “KK” Arnold, the top player in the state, is staring back at you.

“You can see they’re kind of star struck playing with her,” Germantown coach Matt Stuve said.

The challenge the Warhawks’ girls basketball team faced this season wasn’t simply replacing many of the veterans who helped the team win the Division 1 state title in 2021, it was doing so with a large influx of freshmen and sophomores.

Helping ease that transition was perhaps Arnold’s greatest accomplishment of the past season.

Not only did Germantown (23-5) overcome the loss of eight seniors from the year before, it won a share of its fourth straight Greater Metro Conference title and came within one victory from returning to the state tournament.

“I want to say how proud I am of our team,” said Arnold, a 5-foot-10 point guard. “We were really young. We had two freshmen, (three) sophomores. Emilie (Wizner) and Gretchen (McNeal) and all of the seniors, we had a big role to bring them up. They had to mature really fast.”

Germantown’s success along with another sterling season individually made Arnold the unanimous choice for player of the year on The Associated Press all-state girls basketball team. This marks the second straight season Arnold won the honor unanimously.

More: Germantown's Kamorea 'KK' Arnold, Kettle Moraine's Grace Grocholski repeat as first-team picks on coaches girls basketball all-state team

More: Germantown's KK Arnold joins elite company by winning second Gatorade state player of the year award

The team includes players from all five divisions. One other area player, Kettle Moraine junior forward Grace Grocholski, was named to the first team.

Green Bay Notre Dame coach Sara Rohde, who led her team to its second straight Division 2 championship, was named the coach of the year. Six other coaches, including Kettle Moraine’s Todd Hansen and Brookfield East’s Tyler Saxton, were considered.

While Arnold’s leadership was crucial, she also enjoyed her best season statistically in a number of categories.

She finished with career highs in scoring (24.8 ppg), rebounds (7.8 rpg), assists (7.2 apg), steals (4.4 spg) and assists-to-turnover ratio (2.68-to-1).

She also shot 33.1% from three-point range, her best season beyond the arc. That continued improvement from three-point range is what should worry opponents. She shot about 30% from three-point range in 2020-21.

The book on Arnold has been to let her shoot from the outside rather than risk her driving the paint and breaking down the defense there.

“Definitely my junior year my shooting was better,” she said. “(Defenses are) coming out and respecting my jump shot.”

“I come out with the same approach every year,” she added later. “I try to improve on areas I need to improve on.”

Arnold finished with three triple-doubles and 11 other double-doubles.

One of those performances came in the sectional semifinal, when the Warhawks rallied from an 11-point deficit in the second half to win, 90-87, over Kaukauna. Arnold finished the night with a season-high 39 points with 10 assists, seven rebounds and seven steals.

It was a game that finished in typical KK fashion.

“We were down one and the last two shots were her passing to a sophomore and freshman for shots,” Stuve said. “I think that speaks to who she is. She had scored 39 points. We were down by one in the final minute of a sectional semifinal game and she understands the right play was to get those kids the ball. That is what KK does. She is so good at identifying the right basketball play and making it.”

Germantown bowed out of the tournament in the next game, but with Arnold and five of the team’s top seven scorers set to return next season, the Warhawks will once again have the potential to reach the state tournament.

Between then and now Arnold will play travel ball this spring and summer with the Iowa Attack of the Nike EYBL and perhaps get a run with USA Basketball for the second straight year.

“She continues to get this big-time awards, but when I met with her at the end of the season, she just reinforced that she wants to be pushed to get better," Stuve said. "When I asked what she wanted of me next year, she said just get after me and keep pushing me to be better.”

AP ALL-STATE TEAM

Player of the year: *Kamorea “KK” Arnold, 5-10, jr., Germantown

Coach of the year: Sara Rohde, Green Bay Notre Dame

First team

Abbie Aalsma, 5-9, sr., Waupun

*Kamorea “KK” Arnold, 5-10, jr., Germantown

Grace Grocholski, 5-10, jr., Kettle Moraine

Emily La Chapell, 5-11, sr., Appleton East

Kamy Peppler, 5-6, sr., Hortonville

* unanimous

Second team

Macy Donarski, 5-8, jr., La Crosse Aquinas

Lily Krahn, 5-10, sr., Prairie du Chien

Jordan Meulemans, 6-0, sr., De Pere

Mahra Wieman, 5-10, sr., Reedsburg

Allie Ziebell, 5-11, soph., Neenah

Third team

Jasonya “J.J.” Barnes, 5-8, fr., The Prairie School

Alaina Harper, 6-3, sr., Arrowhead

Nakiyah Hurst, 6-0, sr., Milwaukee Academy of Science

Teagan Mallegni, 6-0, soph., McFarland

Jacy Weisbrod, 6-0, sr., jr., La Crosse Aquinas

Fourth team

Jorey Buwalda, 5-8, jr., Randolph

Jada Eggebrecht, 5-9, sr., Phillips

Gracie Grzesk, 5-11, soph., Green Bay Notre Dame

McKenna Johnson, 5-8, soph., Wilmot

Mallory Lindsey, 5-4, sr., Mineral Point

High honorable mention

(received at least two votes)

Sydney Cherney, soph., Reedsburg.

Ja’cia Cunningham, sr., Milwaukee Languages

Lyric Johnson, sr., Hortonville

Mya Moore, sr., Pius XI

Sarah Newcomer, sr., Pewaukee

Demetria Prewitt, sr., Madison La Follette

Sophia Rampulla, jr., Union Grove

Reese Rogowski, jr., Wittenberg-Birnamwood

Meghan Schultz, jr., New Berlin West

Lindsey Schadewalt, soph., New Glarus

Amy Terrian, fr., Pewaukee

Nevaeh Thomas, jr., Kenosha Bradford

Braelyn Torres, jr., Kettle Moraine

Gabby Wilke, soph., Beaver Dam

Honorable mention

(Geographically represented list that draw from each region)

Avree Antony, jr., Sun Prairie; Caitlin Behling, sr., South Milwaukee; Nevaiah Bell-Tenner, sr., Racine Lutheran; Bridee Burks, sr., Lancaster; Trenna Cherney, sr., Reedsburg; Brianna Dahl, sr., Albany; Jazzy Davis, jr., La Crosse Logan; Lauryn Deetz, sr., McDonell Central; Clare Diener, sr., Cedarburg; Trista Fayta, so., Notre Dame; MaKenzie Drout, jr., Kimberly; Madison Fitzgibbon, fr., Homestead; Lexi Freiboth, sr., Mosinee; Emme Golembiewski, sr., Northwood; Lily Hansford, sr., Appleton East; Olivia Hoerl, sr., Chilton; Kate Huml, sr., Janesville Craig; Sadie Jarmolowicz, jr., Freedom; Ayianna Johnson, jr., Jefferson; Leah Lemke, sr., Wrightstown; Julie Lokker, jr., Martin Luther; Lindsey Lettner, sr., Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau; Grace Lomen, sr., Catholic Memorial; Brooke McCune, sr., Osseo-Fairchild; Keona McGee, soph., Dominican; Emma Mommsen, sr., Menomonie; Emma Moseley, sr., Neillsville; Paris Opelt, so., Neillsville; Tieryn Plasch, jr., Northwestern; Avery Poole, sr., Monona Grove; Brittney Mislivecek, jr., La Crosse Central; Megan Murphy, jr., Verona; Kayl Petersen, soph., Waupun; Annika Pluemer, jr., Brookfield East; Lily Randgaard, sr., Kettle Moraine; Grace Schisel, jr., New Holstein; Grace Schmidt, sr., Luther Prep; Megan Schuman, jr., Brillion; Sidney Scruggs, sr., Milwaukee Riverside; Lindsay Steien, jr., Blair-Taylor; Nora Tucker, sr., Bangor; Addy Verhagen, fr., Sheboygan Lutheran; Blair Watters, sr., Mineral Point; Lexie White, jr., Wausau West; Allison Wokatsch, sr., Marathon.

THANK YOU: Subscribers' support makes this work possible. Help us share the knowledge by buying a gift subscription.

DOWNLOAD THE APP: Get the latest news, sports and more

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: KK Arnold is Wisconsin AP girls basketball player of the year again

TODAY
Hot Dr Pepper is the hottest holiday drink, but is it any good?
What is hot Dr Pepper? The holiday drink, which was popular in the 1960s, has made a comeback, so we tried it. Here's what it tastes like.
NBC News
What we know about the Abundant Life Christian School shooting in Wisconsin
A 15-year-old female student killed a teacher and a student at the private Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, on Monday.
Associated Press
Man accused in UnitedHealthcare CEO killing expected to appear at hearing on extradition to New York
The suspect charged with shooting to death a health insurance company chief executive on a Manhattan street will be taken Thursday morning to hearings on related Pennsylvania criminal charges and efforts to extradite him to New York. The preliminary hearing on forgery and firearms charges and consideration of a fugitive from justice complaint against Luigi Mangione may not take long. Court officials said Mangione will attend the early morning proceedings at the Blair County Courthouse in Hollidaysburg.
Associated Press
Oklahoma prepares to perform the nation's 25th and final execution of 2024
Oklahoma is preparing to execute a man who killed a 10-year-old girl in what would be the nation's 25th and final execution of the year. Kevin Ray Underwood is scheduled to die by lethal injection on Thursday, his 45th birthday, at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. Underwood, a former grocery store worker, was sentenced to die for killing Jamie Rose Bolin in 2006 as part of a cannibalistic fantasy.
Associated Press
The US egg industry kills 350 million chicks a year. New technology offers an alternative
Every year the U.S. egg industry kills about 350 million male chicks because, while the fuzzy little animals are incredibly cute, they will never lay eggs, so have little monetary value. The system began operating this month in Iowa at the nation's largest chick hatchery, which handles about 387,000 eggs each day. “We now have ethically produced eggs we can really feel good about,” said Jörg Hurlin, managing director of Agri Advanced Technologies, the German company that spent more than a decade developing the SUV-sized machine that can separate eggs by sex.
Associated Press
Number of dead and missing still unclear as first aid arrives in quake-hit Pacific nation of Vanuatu
The menu for the usual lunchtime rush was replaced with defrosted sausages, readied for emergency workers who are sifting through rubble for those trapped alive or killed in flattened buildings when the massive, 7.3 jolt hit Port Vila, Vanuatu’s capital 48 hours earlier. Search crews were joined Thursday by specialists arriving in waves from Australia, New Zealand and France. Earthquakes are normal for the South Pacific nation made up of 80 islands and home to 330,000 people, but Tuesday’s terrifying shake was like nothing they had felt before.
Reuters
Indonesia president pledges to pardon 'corrupters' who return what they stole
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has said he might pardon people who engaged in graft if they return what they stole, underlining his commitment to tackle corruption. Speaking before hundreds of Indonesian university students in Cairo on Wednesday during his visit to Egypt, Prabowo said he would implement a plan to retrieve ill-gotten gains in the coming weeks or months. Prabowo took office in Oct. 20 and vowed to eradicate corruption and introduce a "realistic" approach to preventing it by increasing wages of state officials entrusted with large budgets.
NBC News
Trump opposes funding bill, pushing government closer to a shutdown
President-elect Donald Trump opposes a short-term bill or CR to fund the government and avoid a shutdown, throwing Congress into chaos days before the deadline.
TODAY
Is hot yoga good for you? What to know about the benefits, potential risks and more
Yoga can be challenging to begin with, but doing it in a heated room can feel next-level intimidating.
TODAY
What is the AIP diet, and can it reduce inflammation? A dietitian who tried it weighs in
The Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) diet is an elimination diet designed to help reduce inflammation, manage symptoms and improve quality of life for people with autoimmune diseases.
CNN
Israeli military strikes Yemen hours after Houthi attack targets Israel
Israel’s military launched deadly strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen early Thursday, just hours after the Iran-backed militant group’s latest attack on Israel.
CNN
Invasive ‘murder hornets’ are wiped out in the US, officials say
The world’s largest hornet, an invasive breed dubbed the “murder hornet” for its dangerous sting and ability to slaughter a honey bee hive in a matter of hours, has been declared eradicated in the U.S., five years after being spotted for the first time in Washington state near the Canadian border.
Associated Press
Japanese newspaper boss who influenced the nation's postwar politics died at 98
Tsuneo Watanabe, the powerful head of Japan's largest newspaper who had close ties with the country's powerful conservative leaders, has died, his company said Thursday. Watanabe, the editor-in-chief of the Yomiuri Shimbun for over 30 years, died of pneumonia at a Tokyo hospital on Thursday, the Yomiuri said. Watanabe joined the newspaper in 1950 and covered politics throughout his career, attending editorial meetings until last month.
Associated Press
Separated for decades, Assad's fall spurs hope for families split by Golan Heights buffer zone
The four sisters gathered by the side of the road, craning their necks to peer far beyond the razor wire-reinforced fence snaking across the mountain. “We can see you!” Soha Safadi exclaimed excitedly on her cellphone. The tiny speck on the hill was Soha’s sister, Sawsan.
CNN
Victims of Wisconsin school shooting identified as details emerge about the home life of teen who opened fire
Unanswered questions remain about a fatal shooting at a Madison, Wisconsin, private school Monday as new details emerge about the upbringing of the teenage girl who allegedly opened fire.
Associated Press
Stock Market Today: Asian shares track Wall Street's selloff after Fed hints at 2 rate cuts in 2025
Shares skidded Thursday in Asia after U.S. stocks tumbled to one of their worst days of the year when the Federal Reserve hinted it may deliver fewer rate cuts in 2025 than earlier thought. The Fed cut its key rate by a quarter of a percentage point to between 4.25% and 4.5%, as expected. Other major central banks have stood pat this week, with the Bank of Japan opting Thursday to keep its benchmark rate at 0.25%.
Associated Press
Thousands of Syrian doctors work in Germany. It hopes they will stay after Assad's fall
Thousands of Syrian doctors work in Germany, and the fall of Bashar Assad is raising concern over the potential consequences for the health sector if many of them were to return home. Germany became a leading destination for Syrian refugees over the past decade, and some politicians were quick to start talking about encouraging the return of at least some after rebels took Damascus earlier this month. Others noted that the exiles include many well-qualified people and said their departure would hurt Germany — particularly that of doctors and other medical staff.
Associated Press
Data on animal movements help Hungarian researchers create a swarm of autonomous drones
Moving in a dense cloud, like throngs of people walking across a crowded public square, 100 drones maneuver through the night sky in Hungary's capital, the result of over a decade of research and experimentation that scientists believe could change the future of unmanned flight. The behavior of the swarm, made up of autonomous drones that make their own real-time decisions on collision avoidance and trajectory planning without pre-programming or centralized control, is guided by research the Hungarian scientists performed on the collective movements of creatures from the natural world. “It’s very rare that you see some technology and you say it’s beautiful,” said Boldizsár Balázs, one of the researchers working on the project.
Associated Press
US deaths are down and life expectancy is up, but improvements are slowing
U.S. life expectancy jumped last year, and preliminary data suggests there may be another — much smaller — improvement this year. Death rates fell last year for almost all leading causes, notably COVID-19, heart disease and drug overdoses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report released Thursday. “What you're seeing is continued improvement, but slowing improvement," said Elizabeth Wrigley-Field, a University Minnesota researcher who studies death trends.
Associated Press
After a decade in Turkey, a Syrian refugee rushes to return home, but reality hits
The moment he arrived home to Syria from Turkey, Ahmed al-Kassem held his sister in a tight embrace, tears streaming down their faces. “Our life in Turkey was not perfect, but what we are seeing here is a disaster.” Al-Kassem and his family are among the more than 7,600 Syrian refugees who Turkish officials say have crossed back into Syria from Turkey since Dec. 9 when Assad was swept out of power by insurgents.