Nebraska's Top 10 first-year girls basketball players

But one element is always missing in their research. The newcomer. While most first-year players spend the better part of their basketball season playing with the freshman or junior varsity teams, or even riding the bench, some do make a huge impact on the varsity season.

Here at MaxPreps we have decided to take a look at which Cornhusker State freshmen are playing more like veterans this winter. And there are some outstanding rookies.

It all starts in Bridgeport where Ruthie Loomis-Goltl is having a monster rookie campaign. Not only is the 6-foot, 2-inch post scoring over 20 points a contest, she is pulling down 13 rebounds, swiping a few enemy balls, dishing out an assist or two and swatting a game-changing five enemy shots a night.

Alyssa Fortik of Malcolm and Ponca's Ashlyn Kingsbury round out the Top 5 in the No. 4 and 5 spots respectively after posting scoring averages of about 13 points each.

Classes C1, C2 and D1 are all represented in this week's Top 10. But that doesn't mean first year players in Classes A, B and D2 aren't competing at a high level as well. North Platte's Carly Purdy did not meet the double digit scoring criteria, but she does lead Nebraska's big school rookies with an 8.4 scoring average and pulls down more than six boards a night.

Shawna Wilkinson of McCook leads the Cornhusker State's second largest classification for first year players with a 9.7 point scoring average while Lewiston's Katelyn Sanders and Cali Cox of Wauneta-Palisade lead Class D2's rookies with scoring averages of 11.5 and 10.3 respectively.

In order to be considered for this week's Top 10, a player had to post a scoring average of 10 points or more. As you look through this Top 10 list, the top line displays the players school as well as their height and position(s) played. Lines two and three are reserved for the player's stat line and shooting stats respectively. The stat lines used in this week's Top 10 were taken from MaxPreps' statistics database Wednesday evening.

Nebraska's top first year girls basketball players

1. Ruthie Loomis-Goltl, Bridgeport 6-2 Fr. P
20.3 points | 1.3 assists | 12.9 rebounds | 1.2 steals | 5.0 blocked shots
80 2FGM-109 2FGA | 0 3PM-0 3PA | 23 FTM-56 FTA | 183 Points

2. Caylin Barnett, Southwest (Bartley) 5-7 Fr. P, G
11.3 points | 1.4 assists | 10.6 rebounds | 3.2 steals | 1.0 blocked shots
34 2FGM-82 2FGA | 0 3PM-1 3PA | 34 FTM-48 FTA | 102 Points

3. Tonya Heirigs, St. Patrick's (North Platte) 5-6 Fr.
16.8 points | 2.3 assists | 4.7 rebounds | 3.1 steals | 0.1 blocked shots
39 2FGM-139 2FGA | 17 3PM-65 3PA | 39 FTM-60 FTA | 168 Points

4. Alyssa Fortik, Malcolm 5-1 Fr. G
13.1 points | 3.0 assists | 3.4 rebounds | 3.4 steals | 0.1 blocked shots
22 2FGM-48 2FGA | 16 3PM-46 3PA | 13 FTM-21 FTA | 105 Points

5. Ashlyn Kingsbury, Ponca Fr. SF
13.5 points | 2.2 assists | 4.2 rebounds | 2.2 steals | 0.7 blocked shots
30 2FGM-51 2FGA | 21 3PM-50 3PA | 12 FTM-22 FTA | 135 Points

6. MaKenna Willis, Shelton Fr.
10.0 points | 4.0 assists | 4.6 rebounds | 3.8 steals | 0.1 blocked shots
20 2FGM-67 2FGA | 8 3PM-33 3PA | 26 FTM-50 FTA | 90 Points

7. Alex Arenas, Wakefield/Allen (Wakefield) Fr.
11.4 points | 0.9 assists | 4.7 rebounds | 3.7 steals | 0.4 blocked shots
30 2FGM-80 2FGA | 12 3PM-55 3PA | 18 FTM-30 FTA | 114 Points

8. Addison Neal, Alma Fr.
11.2 points | 2.0 assists | 3.1 rebounds | 4.2 steals | 0.0 blocked shots
27 2FGM-69 2FGA | 14 3PM-36 3PA | 5 FTM-15 FTA | 101 Points

9. Ashlin Broz, Maywood/Hayes Center (Maywood) 5-5 Fr. F
10.5 points | 3.1 assists | 3.0 rebounds | 3.9 steals | 0.0 blocked shots
28 2FGM-103 2FGA | 6 3PM-29 3PA | 42 FTM-61 FTA | 116 Points

10. Brooklyn Kruse, Wayne Fr. PF
11.6 points | 1.5 assists |5.1 rebounds | 0.8 steals | 1.3 blocked shots
51 2FGM-87 2FGA | 0 3PM-0 3PA | 26 FTM-59 FTA | 128 Points