By Michael S. Hoey
Correspondent
The Badger High School girls basketball team are coming off a 15-8 season, 10-4 in the Southern Lakes Conference. The Badgers, who tied for third in the SLC, lost to Oconomowoc 59-48 in the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association regional final.
Coach David Jooss said the SLC looks very balanced this year, and his team should be able to compete with anyone.
“I believe we can compete with and beat anyone, but we will have to bring it every night,” Jooss said. “There is a lot of balance, and, if you are not ready to play, other teams are going to beat you.”
The Badgers lost nine seniors to graduation, but Jooss is looking to reload, not rebuild. He said last year’s junior varsity team went 20-3. Jooss said all nine seniors contributed to the team’s success last year, but losing Courtney Oomens, a first-team All-SLC player, will be the toughest obstacle to overcome. Oomens averaged 16 points and 10 rebounds a game.
Second-team All-SLC player Jada Moss returns for her senior season. Moss averaged 10.6 points per game. Sophomore point guard Ashlyn Welch also returns. Welch saw a lot of time with the varsity team last year as a freshman. Five other seniors, including LuAnnaBelle Wieseman, Trayn Sproul, Kayla Kerns, Lauryn Beyer and Seneca Peterson will provide experience and depth. Jooss said those seven players will be effective players and each will provide different leadership qualities.
Jooss said juniors Camryn Johnston, Emma Devries and Maria Ayala come up from the junior varsity team. Sophomores Macie Todd, Chloe Wright, Ava Schulz and Veronica Yakubov round out the roster.
Jooss said his team appears able to play fast or grind it out, depending on the opponent.
“We will be tough inside but have the athleticism to play up-tempo,” Jooss said.
Jooss said Moss and Wieseman will give the Badgers inside scoring and rebounds. Peterson and Johnston will provide great depth in the post with their athleticism. Welch, Todd and Kerns have the quickness to push the tempo. Beyer and Sproul will be counted on to shoot opposing teams out of zone defenses.
Jooss said the team needs to get better at taking care of the ball and limiting turnovers to be successful.
“Offensive composure is something that will come as the season goes on, but definitely it is an area of emphasis right now,” he said.
Jooss said playing hard will be the key. He said the team has played hard in stretches during the first couple of weeks of practice but must play hard all the time once the ball gets tipped off for real.
“As our conditioning improves and our younger players adjust to the varsity level, I believe we can play at a high level,” Jooss said.
“I believe we will be an exciting team to watch,” Jooss said. “I am very excited to see what this team can do.”
