Junior-high basketball season ended 12/14

“We were very pleased to have so many students turn out for basketball,” said junior-high girls basketball head coach Kate Wenzl. The season started with high-school girls head coach Kim Kruger welcoming students to the program and running the first three practices. The coaches plan to work together to build a grade 6-12 girls basketball program.

Turning out for the team were Alyssa Iverson, Aaliyana Mendoza, Caitlyn Schuh, Chloe Winkler, Emily Scrupps, Izabelle Burke, Josie Westmoreland, JulieAnn Lovvik, Kaitlyn Zagelow, Katreace Boss, Kaya Kuchenbuch, Kaylen Behrens, Lexie Crawford, Maddie Scrupps, Maddy Wagner, McKennah Davison, Morgan Sandavoal, Mya Boss, Natosha Boss, Noami Smith, Samantha Peterson, Ceianne Mankel, Kenadie Elder and Taylor McDonald. Team manager was Caroline Slack, and parent Terri Kramer kept track of the statistics. Assistant coach was Danielle Vesneske.

Wenzl shared a segment from the TV show 60 Minutes called David vs. Goliath, Malcolm Gladwell’s piece about the power of the underdog. He shows how a team with little basketball skill and a coach with no basketball experience came up with a winning formula: play the most maniacal defense and prevent your opponent from scoring. The theory also included that you would win through lay-ins.

The team watched the video and later on the high-school girls watched it, too. Prior to the first game, the team ran through plays, inbound plays, press, press breaker and, of course, got in shape by running many lines.

The season began with a bang! The C-squad, junior varsity and varsity beat Almira/Coulee-Hartline’s teams in all three games of the season opener. The varsity won six games during the season. Flu caused some players to miss games or there likely would have been even more wins. The absences were a challenge in terms of the team’s overall season record but also presented great learning opportunities for players filling in.

“Our emphasis included sportsmanship, character, blocking out, trapping on the press and maintaining our composure on the floor. Our girls listened and put everything we asked of them into play. They were very frustrated with the press at the beginning of the season but were begging to press by the end of the season (only if our lead was less than 20 points),” said Wenzl.

Top scorers for the season were McKennah Campbell Davison with 109 points (18 of them in one game against Lind/Ritzville-Sprague). When asked what she liked best about the season McKennah said, “How our team always got along. We always had fun on the court, and we never brought each other down. It was an amazing experience for my eighth grade year, being a leader with everyone being content and keeping me in one piece so I wouldn’t fall apart.” Maddy Wagner scored 85 points total with a game high of 21 against Springdale (many points from her steals trapping on the press). Caitlyn Schuh also had a notable performance as our shark in the middle of the press. She was quick to intercept many passes this season. When the team beat ACH for the second time, the seventh-graders and sixth-grader Emily Scrupps got the win. Wenzl said Katreace Boss was the most improved player this season and was able to step in when Maddy Wagner was out; Maddie Scrupps was most inspirational with her constant encouragement and support for her teammates. Every team should be lucky enough to have such a teammate.

The last game of the season was a close victory over LRS by one point December 14. Many of the eighth-grade girls will now be playing basketball for the high-school team. Large crowds of supporters were at every game, rewarding the players’ hard work, hustle, press and defense.

The JV won four games this season. Katreace Boss lead the scoring with 28 points (and another 21 on varsity) and Izabelle Burke had 24 points for the season. The girls focused on teamwork, blocking out and running offensive plays. The most exciting JV game was one that went into double overtime against Springdale before the Titans lost by two points in the final moment of the game.

Lexie Crawford learned to set an impeccable screen this season, Wenzl said. When asked about what she liked about the season, she said, “I liked the intensity of it. We played tough and were aggressive.” Josie Westmoreland worked hard at every single practice and game. Her speed is unmatched in the heat of the game. She had several steals during the season and was a joy to watch, Wenzl said.

Wenzl is looking forward to watching the eighth-graders play high-school ball and to the new sixth-graders coming in. Information on basketball camps in town and out of town will be forthcoming.

Coach Kate Arnold-Wenzl of Harrington submitted the information contained in this article.