Ella Szatkowski

POSEN–Before the start of the season, Posen girls basketball coach Karl Momrik gave Ella Szatkowski some very simple advice.

Take the season one game at a time and good things will happen.

So far, plenty of good things have been happening for Szatkowski this season.

As of Monday, the Posen High School freshman leads the area in both points (21.7) and rebounds (14) per game.

She’s formed a high-scoring duo with Makayla Kamyszek, who is averaging 13.7 points per game, and has already surpassed her career high several times this year.

She’s also part of a team that’s riding a nine-game winning streak and has already secured a fourth consecutive North Star League Little Dipper division title.

“I think it’s been going really good. I’ve been working really hard and every single person (on the team) has been helping out,” Szatkowski said. “Together as a team, we’ve all taken a leadership position.”

Having freshmen fill big roles is nothing new for Posen. The Vikings routinely have eighth graders and freshmen on their varsity roster and Jenna Hincka, Korynn Hincka, Brooke Ciarkowski, Sam Lenard and Cami LaTulip are among recent players who have been pressed into action early.

But Szatkowski’s growth as a player has been impressive, even to Momrik.

With the graduation of Riley Krajniak and Elena Kalbitzer, Szatkowski was one of several players Momrik expected to take some big steps forward. She’s done just that, turning into a scoring and rebounding force that’s exceeded all of Momrik’s expectations.

“You don’t want to tell a kid how much you expect, especially younger players, but her improvement has been off the wall,” Momrik said. “This year, she took the reins and ran with it.”

In the midst of Posen’s nine-game winning streak, Szatkowski has stepped up in big games. She scored 20 points in a back-and-forth game with Hillman a few weeks ago and followed that up with a 22-point effort in a win over Hale.

Nights like those are a direct result of the work Szatkowski put in in the offseason. Even as the COVID-19 pandemic has paused seasons, changed schedules and brought an ever-changing list of rules and conditions just to play, Szatkowski never stopped working.

Szatkowski worked on dribbling and shooting this summer, completely reworking her shooting form to improve her jump shot. On days when the weather was bad, Szatkowski stayed in her garage and practiced dribbling. Most days she would practice three or hour hours.

“I worked with some amazing people this offseason,” Szatkowski said. “The hard work has definitely been paying off.”

Szatkowski’s improvement is a welcome sight for a program that should keep a talented core of players intact for the next several seasons.

Szatkowski and Sofya Hincka are only freshmen, Kamyszek and Lizzy Romel are juniors and Faith Cousins is a sophomore.

“We need her to be one of our big scorers,” Momrik said of Szatkowski. “She is a good player and we’re going to get her the ball. (Her growth) has been tremendous and she’s going to be a special player.”