Madison Edgewood senior forward Estella Moschkau collected another major honor on Monday.
The 6-foot-2 Moschkau was named the 2016-17 Gatorade Wisconsin Girls Basketball Player of the Year, the Gatorade Company announced in a release Monday.
Moschkau, a Stanford signee, became the first Edgewood player to be selected as Gatorade girls player of the year.
The award recognizes athletic excellence, high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character on and off the court.
Moschkau now becomes a finalist for the Gatorade national player of the year award.
On Saturday, Moschkau was named a co-recipient of the Miss Basketball Award for the state, as named by the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association. Moschkau was presented with the award during halftime of the WIAA Division 4 title game Saturday at the Resch Center in Ashwaubenon.
In an interview, Moschkau acknowledged her parents, coaches, teammates, friends and family for helping her on her journey, saying, “I’m so honored and grateful.”
Then Moschkau went out and scored a game-high 20 points and also grabbed seven rebounds in leading the Crusaders to a 51-30 victory over Greendale Martin Luther in the WIAA Division 3 championship game. It was Edgewood’s first WIAA title in two appearances. The Crusaders reached state for the first time last season, losing in the semifinals.
Moschkau was named to the all-tournament team by state media after completion of this year's tournament Saturday night.
Moschkau, at the time of her selection for the Gatorade honor, was averaging 18.3 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.7 blocks entering the Division 3 title game. She was a first-team all-state selection last season. She is Edgewood’s school career leader in points and blocked shots.
Moschkau worked hard in the offseason on her defense and continued to work on her basketball skills, strength and conditioning during the school year, regularly getting up for 5:30 a.m. workouts.
Edgewood coach Lora Staveness said Moschkau has “an unbelievable work ethic, like all great players do” and has the ability to control the game “without having to put up eye-popping numbers.”
Added Staveness: “At 6-2, Estella is often an offensive and defensive nightmare for teams, as she is able to play all five positions on the floor.”
Wrightstown coach Mike Froehlke, whose team lost to Edgewood in Thursday’s Division 3 semifinals, called Moschkau “a fabulous player.”
“Estella Moschkau is a phenomenal player,” Monona Grove coach Tyler Kuehl said in the Gatorade release. “She affects the game like no other player I’ve seen this year. She has so many skills offensively that if you take one thing away, she can switch gears to something else. She’s also an incredible defender.”
Moschkau has served as a tutor in her school and has volunteered on behalf of a homeless shelter, Meals on Wheels and for youth sports programs. She has a 4.0 GPA.
As a Gatorade Player of the Year, Moschkau will be able to select a national or local youth sports organization to receive a grant as part of the Gatorade Play it Forward program.
Barneveld guard Hannah Whitish, who now plays at Nebraska, was last season’s state Gatorade player of the year.
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