CBS 58's Hometown Athlete: Arrowhead's Kussow ready for next steps

HARTLAND, Wis. (CBS 58) - Arrowhead senior Natalie Kussow ended her basketball career the way any senior would want to, with another state championship.

"As a freshman coming in, I just wanted to have an impact on the team any way I could. And my goal was just to win," said Kussow.

Mission accomplished. In four seasons, Kussow and her teammates put together a 103-14 record with three straight state trips and claiming two state championships.

"It's crazy how it all happened," said Kussow.

"It's just been enjoyable. Like I'm proud of them and who they are and how they play the game. And I guess I'm proud of the fact that they've made it fun," said Ron Reichle, Arrowhead girls basketball coach.

Along the way, Kussow finished fifth in state history with 2,797 career points. She was named the back-to-back Gatorade Player of the Year for Wisconsin. This season she also added the 2026 WBCA Ms. Basketball award. But those aren't the things she'll remember most.

"I've been playing with these girls for a long time and they're some of my best friends," said Kussow. "I think it was just really fun to be able to spend every day with them, like practice games, like team dinners too. Like everything was just so fun to be around with the team."

Next, Kussow will reunite with fellow Wisconsin natives former Kettle Moraine Grace Grocholski and former Hartford standout Makena Christian at the University of Minnesota. The Golden Gophers are coming off their first trip the NCAA Tournament in 8 seasons.

Kussow attended the team's first win over Green Bay.

"I thought it was really cool. Like I've been to a few other games in Minnesota too, but I would say by far this one had the most people at it and just the best atmosphere," said Kussow. "I feel like Minnesota's gotten better every single year that Coach Dawn (Plitzuweit) has been a part of it. I think it's been great to see, and I'm really excited to be a part of it."

The competition will step up, but her coach says she has the game and mindset to translate.

"There's really nothing that she's not good at," said Reichle. "They need her to score, she'll score. They need her just to play defensive rebound because he got other scores coming back. That's fine. She'll find a way to make them better by being ultra-competitive, doing all the work needed."

Kussow will head to Minnesota in June.