For the second time in as many years, Ellsworth sophomore Molly Janke received Middle Border Conference All-Conference honors. Janke is joined by sophomore teammate Ava Brookshaw, who earned All-Conference Honorable Mention for the 2021-22 season.

Janke’s First-Team All-Conference selection for the 2021-22 season is the second of her high school career. Her first was during her freshman year when she made the Second-Team All-Conference list, joining then-teammate senior Autumn Earney. Brookshaw’s All-Conference Honorable Mention is the first such accolade of her high school career.

While individual accolades are great for young players, perhaps, more importantly, the play of Janke and Brookshaw was critical in the Panthers’ success this season, which ended in a WIAA Division 3 Regional Final loss to the Saint Croix Falls Saints, a team that made its way to the state tournament for the first time in school history.

Despite running into the buzzsaw Saints, Ellsworth had a successful season, nonetheless. The Panthers were picked by publications to finish in the bottom half of the conference and instead posted an 8-6 record in Middle Border play, giving Ellsworth a fourth-place finish in the standings.

Janke led the Panthers in every major statistical category. She finished the year averaging 19.3 points per game, 10.4 rebounds per game and 3.5 assists per game – all team-highs for Ellsworth for the 2021-22 season. Ellsworth head coach Jason Janke spoke about Molly Janke’s selection as a First-Team All-Conference player.

“We were able to finish in the top half of the league and Molly (Janke) was certainly a leading player for us, and when you do that, you do have a deserving kid or two to be on the first or second team,” Jason Janke said. “We felt with the things she did for us, we felt like she fell in that top group. We were proud of her and were happy the other coaches felt the same way.”

Molly Janke’s 19.3 points per game ranked her first on the team for Ellsworth and second overall in the Middle Border Conference, trailing only Osceola junior point guard Hattie Fox’s 21.2 points per game average. Jason Janke spoke about other aspects of Molly Janke’s game that make her one of the six best players in the conference.

“Like any strong player, you have to account for her presence,” Jason Janke said. “She improved her outside shooting ability whereas last year they could lay off of her. This year they had to defend her inside and out. When you have to give that much attention to a kid, it allows everybody else to step up and have more opportunities.”

Molly Janke’s outside scoring ability, in addition to her ability to get to the rack at will makes her one of the two best scorers in the conference. And as Jason Janke outlined, her presence on the floor alone demands so much attention that other players like the aforementioned Brookshaw can thrive in other roles.

“Her role allowed everybody else to play their role very well,” Jason Janke said of Molly Janke. “It allows everyone else to step up and have opportunities. Our kids understand roles really well. In my experience, any good team has players with roles.”

Brookshaw also had a fantastic year for the Panthers. She finished as the team’s secondleading scorer with 8.3 points per game. Perhaps her greatest asset is her shooting stroke. Throughout the 2021-22 season, Brookshaw shot 36-103 from three-point land (35%) which made her the second-best three-point shooter on the team, trailing only Molly Janke. Jason Janke spoke about Brookshaw’s Honorable Mention accolade.

“I thought a couple of our kids had the opportunity to be named in that top 12 (first team or second team) and she fell just below that as an Honorable Mention,” Jason Janke said. “We certainly felt she deserved what she got if not a little more.”

Brookshaw came into the season with an injury that didn’t allow her to start where she would have liked, according to Jason Janke. Despite that injury, she transformed herself into one of the best shooters on her team and became a more well-rounded player throughout her sophomore year.

“She shot the ball pretty consistently for us and (other teams) had to account for her shooting,” Jason Janke said. “She had some games where she attacked the basket better and she’s working hard on becoming a strong all-around player and I thought she was deserving.”

One of the most important games of Ellsworth’s season was a Thursday, Feb. 3 home game against Baldwin-Woodville, a Blackhawk team that was in a tight race with Ellsworth and Prescott for the Middle Border Conference championship.

In that game, Brookshaw stepped up and led all Ellsworth scorers with 19 points. She also grabbed six rebounds and a steal in the 50-44 victory that kept Ellsworth in the hunt for a conference title.

Brookshaw was clutch, to say the least. She was 4-9 from three-point range and 5-6 from the charity stripe, as she knocked down free throws in the closing minutes that sealed the game for Ellsworth. Jason Janke spoke about Brookshaw’s clutch gene.

“She definitely does step up at the appropriate time,” Jason Janke said of Brookshaw. “I think she’s learning that she’s capable of that. I always joke with her, half-joking, I guess, ‘Ava, when you realize you’re as good as I know you are, gosh, you’re going to be scary out there.’” As Brookshaw and Molly Janke continue to develop and refine their game on the floor, Ellsworth will likely continue to climb the Middle Border Conference standings in the coming years.

The All-Conference recognition that both of them received this year is just another indication that Brookshaw and Molly Janke are on the path to success – both individually and as a team.

Ellsworth sophomore Molly Janke takes and makes a runner against Northwestern during the Menomonie Holiday Classic earlier this season. Janke earned First-Team All-Conference honors for the 2021-22 season. _________ _______________