A year ago they were friendly rivals, competing for the same women's basketball scholarship at the University of Wisconsin.

Today, Taylor Wurtz and Catie O'Leary are summer roommates and in their first week as Badger teammates.

At the same time, they're preparing for the final acts of their high school careers by playing in the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association All-Star games Saturday at Madison Area Technical College.

Wurtz, a 6-foot guard from Ripon High School, will play for the Division 2 South team, while O'Leary, a 5-10 guard from Janesville Parker, is a member of the Division 1 South team.

The preparations for the all-star games coincide with their first week as college students. O'Leary and Wurtz are each taking two classes this summer, in addition to working out with their new UW teammates.

"This week is really a transition," O'Leary said. "It's been the busiest week I've ever had. We've had a lot of workouts and I know I'm going to get into the routine after this week and get used to the college life, versus the high school and college life this week."

It's a week the two have been building toward for years. Their paths first crossed two summers ago when they became teammates with the Wisconsin Fastbreak AAU team, where they quickly established a bond.

"We just became really close," said Wurtz, who was the state's leading scorer as a senior with an average of 25.4 points per game. "We're similar players. We both like to shoot and drive, so it's a lot of fun to play with her."

The two were so similar that they emerged as the two top candidates for what was then one available scholarship as a shooting guard at UW. Ultimately, coach Lisa Stone offered the scholarship to Wurtz, who verbally committed to the Badgers in September.

"The two of us were going for one spot, that's exactly what the case was," O'Leary said. "Everybody knew it. We were definitely competing for one spot and Taylor got the first pick at that."

Apparently, not everybody knew about that competition.

"I never really thought of it like that," Wurtz said. "I didn't know that. I guess I wasn't very aware."

"Maybe she was oblivious because she got the first shot at it," O'Leary said with a laugh.

After being told the Badgers didn't have a spot for her, O'Leary accepted an offer to attend Loyola (Ill). But after Ramblers coach Shannon Reidy resigned in March, O'Leary began to rethink her decision.

With some encouragement from Wurtz and several of their AAU teammates, O'Leary wrote a letter to Stone expressing her desire to play for the Badgers. She asked for and eventually received her release from Loyola and was on her way to Madison.

"I always felt a little Badgerish," said O'Leary, a two-time, first-team all-state selection and two-time Wisconsin State Journal Player of the Year. "There was a time when I almost wanted to go here even if it was just for the academics. So this is the best case scenario.

"It was really stressful, but I'm extremely happy with how things turned out. Even though this has probably been the roughest week of workouts in my life, I've loved it all. I like being pushed and I can feel myself getting stronger and more aggressive already. So I'm excited for the summer."

One of O'Leary's summer tasks is to serve as Wurtz's human GPS. "I'm terrible with directions," Wurtz admitted. "She knows where she's going, especially getting around campus, so that helps a lot."

One place they both know how to find is the Kohl Center. They're already spending a lot of time there, getting to know their new teammates.

"My Badger teammates have been so great, helping me adjust," Wurtz said. "When coach Stone was recruiting me, she always talked about how it was like a family and I definitely feel that now that I'm here."

While they're adapting to their new team, the two freshmen-to-be are also strengthening their own bond. Each is the other's biggest booster.

"Catie's a very smart player," Wurtz said. "She sees the floor well and knows how to move. She's also a hard worker. I think she's going to help build the program, especially with her attitude. She has such a positive energy that it makes others want to work harder. I think she'll make a big difference.

"Off the court, she's just hilarious. She's a fun person to be around. She's a little shy at first, but once you get to know her, she's a lot of fun."

Likewise, said O'Leary.

"Taylor is a great girl," she said. "You would love her even if she wasn't great at basketball. As a player, she's obviously really good. She has a great 3(-point shot) and she's very strong to the hoop. She can take almost anybody to the hoop.

"She's also a great person. She's funny and she's nice to everybody. A lot of the girls on the Badgers are like, 'Taylor laughs a lot.' I tell them she'll laugh at almost anything you say or do. That's just Taylor."

These days there's plenty for both Wurtz and O'Leary to be happy about.

DENNIS PUNZEL - 6/18/2009 10:57 pm

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