Marquette commit Emily La Chapell is enjoying her final season at Appleton East
APPLETON, Wis. (BVM) – Emily La Chapell wasted no time in showing everyone that her seniors season was going to be memorable.
In Appleton East’s first game of the season against Wisconsin Rapids, La Chapell scored 40 points to go with her 12 rebounds, seven assists and seven steals. The Patriots won 89-39 which is all La Chapell cared about.
“All I’m focused on is winning,” La Chapell said.
For La Chapell and the rest of the Patriots, this is a special season. Appleton East features 10 seniors including La Chapell, who is committed to play basketball at Marquette next season, and Lily Hansford, who will be playing basketball at Oregon State.
“It’s our last year together with this group so we’re excited to get this rolling,” La Chapell said.
La Chapell is also playing her last season with her dad, Joe La Chapell, as her coach.
“It’s kind of bittersweet,” Emily said. “It’s kind of surreal that it’s going to be our last season together because he’s been my coach since I could dribble a ball or even hold it so I’m excited to make this last run with him.”
It’s the end of an era in more ways than one but for the top recruit from Wisconsin for the Class of 2022, it’s also a chance to finish on top. The Patriots are one of the top-ranked teams in the state and Emily is leading the way, averaging a team–high 20.4 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.5 assists.
“I feel like we’ll make a really big run in the playoffs,” Emily said.
After losing last season by one-point to conference rivals Kimberly in the playoffs, the Patriots entered the postseason determined to make this season count. They entered the season as one of the top teams in the state and have lived up to that, going 10-1 with their only loss coming against out-of-state opponent Hopkins High School, one of the top programs in the country.
“I feel like the season is off to a really strong start,” Emily said. “We’re playing really well, cohesively together on the court so I feel like overall it’s off to a really strong start.”
It’s a characteristic of this team that Emily loves to bring up. This group of girls is selfless and plays together for the betterment of the team. They have the chemistry of a group that has played together for years and know how to make one another thrive out on the court.
“I feel like this group is super special,” Emily said. “Just the kind of people we are, that really does transfer onto the court.”
And according to Emily, her and her fellow seniors were prepared for this by those that came before them.
“When I was starting out as a freshman I was really fortunate to come into a group of seniors that really showed me a good way to lead,” Emily said. “Showed me the culture that we want to have in our program. I feel it’s my duty, just being a senior but also a leader on the team, just to carry on that culture.”
Back then she may have been a freshman, but Emily was already showing signs of what she would become: playing like someone who grew up in a gym and had already dedicated a lot of time in their young life improving their talents on the court.
“Ever since I can remember basketball was always the one I stuck with and loved the most,” La Chapell said.
That love for the game and the relationships created from her involvement in the sport only made her want to spend more time with a basketball in her hand. By the time she was in middle school, she began to realize her potential.
“Somewhere around middle school I started to take that post-high school part of basketball seriously and really clamp down on that,” Emily said.
The offers soon followed and along with Marquette, she received interest from Xavier, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Utah and Iowa State among others. However, Marquette always seemed to stand out.
“I was always comparing schools back to Marquette… All of a sudden it just kind of clicked and I could just really envision myself there,” Emily said.
A big part of that was due to her relationship with Golden Eagle head coach Megan Duffy who had originally recruited Emily while she was the head coach at Miami University (Ohio) and then continued to recruit her once she took over at Marquette in the spring of 2019.
Last spring she announced her verbal commitment to Marquette and in November she made it official by signing her National Letter of Intent.
“Officially signing and knowing that that’s your home and that’s the community you’re going to be surrounded by, it was super cool,” Emily said.
Emily is thrilled to head to Marquette next season. She believes the culture there and the people within the program will allow her to truly thrive, but before she leaves for Milwaukee, she is going to enjoy her senior season.
