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A capsule look at area teams
Aitkin Gobblers
2007-08 records: 13-3 conf., 22-6 overall
Coaches: Rob Williams, Cathy Hughes, Mike Reem
Returning starters: Emily Mehr (senior, center), Meredith Chaput (sophomore, forward), Sara Hoge (senior, guard), Lauren Landrus (senior, forward)
Returning letterwinners: Allie Carlson (junior, forward), Kelsey Klucas (senior, guard), Kristy Hoge (junior, guard), Lena Montano (junior, forward), Katie Campbell (senior, forward)
Remaining roster: Miranda Paulson (senior, forward), Elizabeth Mattson (junior, center)
Strengths: Williams said depth, experience, team chemistry and understanding of each other on the floor.
Weaknesses: Speed and consistency
Great River Conference favorites: Aitkin, Braham, Hinckley-Finlayson.
Crosby-Ironton Rangers
2007-08 records: 8-2 conf., 23-5 overall
Coaches: Randy Swanhorst, Dale Lundgren, John Cragun
Returning starters: Sam Stanfield (senior, 5-9, guard), Katie Swanhorst (junior, 5-9, guard)
Returning letterwinners: Kendra Perpich (junior 5-3, guard), Jana Anderson (sophomore, 5-7, guard), Chauntel Spalj (senior, 5-11, post), Christina Mapson (senior, 5-9, wing), Whitney Cragun (junior, 5-8, guard)
Remaining roster: September Prushek (freshman, 5-5, guard), Cassie Valentino (junior, 5-5 guard), Maggie Buchite (sophomore, 5-6, guard), Sienna Miller (freshman, 5-11, post), Natalie Everson (senior, 5-8, wing), Missy Foote (freshman, 5-8, wing)
Strengths: "Our guard play will be the most experienced part of our team," said Swanhorst. "We should have an outside shooting threat and some quickness."
Weaknesses: "Inexperienced post play and a developmental year for some young players. We will look to play more kids this year in an effort to find a rotation and to develop our inexperienced and younger players."
Mid-State Conference favorites: Detroit Lakes, Pequot Lakes, Wadena-Deer Creek
Lake Region Christian Hornets
Coaches: Steve Ogren
Returning starters: Anne Wallen (senior, post), Melody Button
(junior, guard), Carissa Grogg (junior, post), Cayanne Robben (junior, guard), Shandra Zacher (junior, guard)
Remaining roster: Emily Jensen (junior, post), Cheryl Kulju (junior, guard), Kelsey Grider (sophomore, post), Elsie Doxtator (freshman, guard), Bethany Cressman (eighth grade, post), Autumn Martin (eighth grade, guard), Emily Beltran (seventh grade, guard)
Strengths: "We rely heavily on the leadership of our senior, Anne Wallen, but the junior class makes up the nucleus of our team," said Ogren. "Three of the juniors were starters last season and we are looking to cash in now on some of that experience."
Little Falls Flyers
2007-08 records: 2-16 conf., 3-23 overall
Coaches: Deb Yliniemi-Ahlin, Tara Oseland, Shelly Kircher, Greg Emerson
Returning starters: Katie Hochsprung, Carlee Davich, Trisha Wippler, Paige Beseman, Megan Voss
Remaining roster: Danel Okeman, Samantha Koester
Strengths: "With more experience this year we hope to run the floor with great confidence," said Yliniemi-Ahlin. "I expect our post play to be tougher than last year."
Weaknesses: Injury prone
Central Lakes Conference favorites: Alexandria and Willmar
Pequot Lakes Patriots
2007-08 records: 6-4 conf., 22-8 overall
Coaches: Bob Nelson, Brian Kazmierczak, Molly Wiste
Returning starters: Mindy Howard (senior, 5-9, guard), Emily Lueck (sophomore, 5-9, guard)
Returning letterwinners: Kylie Beltz (sophomore, 5-6, guard), Mattie Lueck (freshman, 5-11, forward), Kirsten Noska (junior, 5-8, forward), Sarah Thomas (junior, 5-5, guard)
Remaining roster: Katie Schmidt (junior, 5-7, forward), Kendra Johnson (sophomore, 5-8, forward), Amy Larson (junior, 5-11, post), Chelsea Walton (junior, 5-10, forward), Kayla Wangen (sophomore, 5-8, forward), Jessica Johnson (sophomore, 5-10, post)
Strengths: "Our strength this year is our guard play with our leading scorers back in Mindy Howard and Emily Lueck," said Nelson.
Weaknesses: "One question we have is our post play," Nelson said. "We had two senior post players graduate. We have some young players that worked hard over the summer that will be moving into those spots. We will just have to see how much they improve."
Mid-State Conference favorites: "Detroit Lakes - they won it last year and have most of the team back," said Nelson. "After that it will be a battle. There are a lot of good teams."
Pierz Pioneers
2007-08 records: 8-6 conf, 19-9 overall
Coaches: Rick Sczublewski, Jonathan McCollum, Dave Fischer
Returning starters: Gabrielle Boser (senior, 5-11, post), Kaari Jensen (senior, 5-10, guard), Miranda Przybilla (junior, 5-5, guard)
Returning letterwinners: Kelsey Meyer (junior, 5-7 wing), Rochelle Langer (senior, 5-7, guard), Brianna Varner (senior, 5-6, guard), Emily Weber (junior, 5-10, post)
Remaining roster: Jayme Sczublewski (sophomore, 5-7, guard), Amber Preimesberger (sophomore, 6-10, post), Erika Broschofsky (sophomore, 5-10, post), Sarah Schirmers (sophomore, 5-7, guard), Erin Gritzmacher (sophomore, 5-5, guard), Cassie Banick (sophomore, 5-6, guard), Chelsie Trapp (junior, 5-8, post), Autumn Woitalla (sophomore, 5-10 post)
Strengths: "We have quite a few kids back with a lot of good varsity experience," said Sczublewski. "Gabrielle Boser and Kaari Jensen were both all-conference players last year. They are going to be our leaders and should be top stat leaders. We are very athletic and solid defensively. We are very confident that we will have a good season."
Weaknesses: "Losing three-year starter Katie Kimman is a huge loss," said Sczublewski. "She was our leading rebounder and scorer last year. Boser will more than likely be able to replace her on the offensive end. Gabrielle is a great shooter. We will need a lot of players to pick up the slack on the boards if we want to have a good season. Rebounding could be our Achilles heel."
Central Minnesota Conference favorites: Eden Valley-Watkins and Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted
Pillager Huskies
2007-08 records: 3-9 conf., 6-19 overall
Coaches: Wade Mortenson,
Returning starters: Kaylie Hanson (sophomore), Amy Kientzle (senior), Lena Unger (senior)
Returning letterwinners: Shelby Nokken (junior), Kelly Johnson (senior), Amanda Ruhl (Senior), Ally Hunstad (sophomore), Shauna Maurer (sophomore), Kayla Rardin (Sophomore), Jackie White (Sophomore), Jessica Kadus (Sophomore)
Strengths: "We have many girls coming back, who have varsity experience" said Mortenson. "We also have many girls who will be pushing for a varsity spot. The girls that make up this team are very athletic and we have great team speed. We hope to use that to our advantage during the season in order to compete in our conference and section, which are both filled with many quality teams."
Pine River-Backus Tigers
2007-08 records: 12-0 conf., 19-9 overall
Coaches: Randy Schwegel, Cassie Evenson, Mike Kaluza
Returning starters: Katie Wangberg (sophomore, guard), Hannah Lemberg (sophomore, guard), Tatum Sheley (eighth-grade, forward)
Remaining roster: Alexis Hansen (freshman, center), Brittany Kelley (eighth grade, guard), Kendra Hamilton (sophomore, forward), Grace Lemberg (freshman, guard), Autumn Ackerman (eighth grade, center), Cate Zebroski (freshman, forward), Tiffany Smith (sophomore, forward)
Weaknesses: "We will not have a junior or senior on our roster, but believe it or not there is experience returning this year," said Schwegel. "We are still really young. We are small and need to gain experience."
Northwoods Conference favorites: Walker-Hackensack-Akeley
Staples-Motley Cardinals
2007-08 records: 4-6 conf., 8-16 overall
Coaches: Arden Beachy, Alisha Miller, Kevin Coughlin
Returning starters: Nikki Pearson (junior, 5-7, guard), Caitlin Robinson (junior, 5-8, forward)
Returning letterwinners: Naomi Landecker (senior, 5-5, guard), Brooke Simonson (senior, 5-6, guard), Liz Willgohs (senior, 5-7, post), Savanna Hill (junior, 5-7, forward), Ashley Lisson (junior, 5-6, guard), Abby Smith (sophomore, 5-6, guard)
Remaining roster: Kelsey Rice, Jennifer Vasquez, Kara Robinson
Strengths: "Our team strength will be our quickness and our ability to play pressure defense," said Beachy. "We also have a lot of kids back with experience."
Weaknesses: "We don't have any height," Beachy said. "Our tallest player is 5-foot-8. We will try to keep the game fast paced and try and get lots of transition baskets."
Verndale Pirates
2007-08 records: 3-9 conf., 8-18 overall
Coaches: Art Schluttner, Dan Johnson
Returning starters: Trista Finck (junior, guard), Taryn Fuller (senior, guard), Kelsey Booth (senior, forward)
Returning letterwinners: Elizabeth Johnson (sophomore, guard), Heather Hejhal (junior, guard), Alicia Johnson (senior, forward)
Remaining roster: Tina Uselman (senior, forward), Jenny Swenson (sophomore, guard), Ashley Richter (sophomore, forward), Lizzy Yungbauer (sophomore, guard), Chaitra Collison (sophomore, forward)
Strengths: "With most of our starters returning I expect to have a very successful season," said Schluttner. "The experience the girls obtained last year will make us a much improved team. The last two years we have been hit hard by season-ending injuries to starters so we are looking to stay healthy."
Weaknesses: "We have many young players who have little or no varsity experience," Schluttner said. "Those girls will need to play an important role for us this year off the bench."
Park Region Conference favorites: Sebeka, Bertha-Hewitt and New York Mills.
Wadena-Deer Creek Wolverines
2007-08 records: 3-7 conf., 11-13 overall
Coaches: Darin Carstens, Keith Ferris
Returning starters: Brigetta Berg (senior, forward), Courtney Volkmann (sophomore, guard), Jordan Moenkedick (senior, forward), Kendra Grothmann (senior, guard), Steph Perkins (senior, guard)
Returning letterwinners: Amy Brown (senior, guard), Emily Wood (senior, guard), Avery Jackson (freshman, guard)
Remaining roster: Kelsi Crawford (sophomore, forward), Hannah Toedter (junior, guard), Keeley Timm (sophomore, guard), Rachel Craig (sophomore, center), Kayla Krause (Junior, guard), Emily Hammes (junior, center)
Strengths: "We have some good young athletes and should be exciting to watch this season," said Carstens. We have good senior leadership returning and basically our top six scorers from last year. Along with those seniors we return a nice nucleus of underclassmen."
Weaknesses: "Last year we needed more scoring so hopefully we get some this year because we will play good defense usually," Carstens said. "We will need to rebound the basketball if we hope to win at all this season."
Mid-State Conference favorites: Detroit Lakes and Pequot Lakes.
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