This story is sponsored by: Chili Implement
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
The 2024-25 high school girls basketball season is in its infant stages, but some promising trends have already begun.
Auburndale, Stratford and Spencer are all off to undefeated starts as the conference schedules get underway full bore this week.
Marshfield Columbus Catholic brings back an experienced team, and veteran coach Heidi Michaelis returns after six years away with 300-plus wins on her resume to take over the Marshfield program again.
What happens over the next three months is anyone’s guess, but it sure looks to be a promising year for the five local girls basketball teams. Here’s an outlook:
AUBURNDALE EAGLES
Coach (years at school, overall record): Josh Nagel (first).
Last season: 16-10, 11-5 tied for second place in Marawood Conference South Division; lost to Neillsville 59-26 in WIAA Division 4 regional final.
Returning players: Kylie Anderson, jr., 5-4 G, 2.4 points, 1.8 assists, 1.3 rebounds per game in 2023-24; Chesney Nagel, so., 5-9 G, 1.8 ppg; Lily Bellanti, so., 5-7 G, 7 ppg; Gracie Hasenohrl, so., 5-6 G, 4.3 ppg, 3 rpg, 2.4 apg, second-team all-Marawood South; Taylor Anderson, sr., 5-7 F, 2 ppg; Sidney Wolff, jr., 5-8 F, 4.7 ppg, 4.8 rpg, honorable mention all-Marawood South; Alivia Wolf, so., 5-5 G; Rose Hasenohrl, so., 5-10 F, 7.1 ppg, 3 rpg, second-team all-Marawood South; Breleigh Grimm, so., 5-8 F, 2.9 ppg, 4.1 rpg; Mya Krings, sr., 5-5 G, 4.2 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.8 apg, honorable mention all-Marawood South; Lili Grube, sr., 5-7 F; Myah Katzenberger, so., 5-10 F, 7.9 ppg, 5.7 rpg.
Top newcomers: Katey Brunton, jr., 5-4 G; Oriah Harris, so., 5-10 F.
Outlook: Auburndale lost only two seniors from a team that tied for second in the Marawood South and reached a regional final. The return of seven players who saw significant minutes as freshmen, and succeeded, has the Eagles thinking about big things ahead in 2024-25.
From Coach Nagel: “The keys to success are pretty much the same for every team. We need to limit turnovers, execute our offense, defend at a high level and not give up second-chance points. We return almost everyone from last season that played substantial minutes. We have some size, length and athleticism that should allow us to defend at a high level.”
COLUMBUS CATHOLIC DONS
Coach (years at school, overall record): Eric Wilson (second, 11-15).
Last season: 11-15, 8-6 tied for fourth place in Cloverbelt Conference East Division; lost 37-35 to Greenwood in WIAA Division 5 regional semifinal.
Returning players: Gracie Wilczek, sr., 5-7 G, 7.4 points, 3.8 rebounds per game, honorable mention all-Cloverbelt East in 2023-24; Katelyn Casperson, jr., 5-6 G, 3.2 ppg, 2.4 rpg; Hailey Hargraves, jr., 5-7 F, 1.2 ppg, 1.4 rpg; Chayse Blenker, jr., 5-8 F; 2.3 ppg, 3.2 rpg; Sophie Wilczek, so., 5-5 G, 5.5 ppg, 2 rpg; Abby Wojcik, so., 5-3 G.
Top newcomers: Izzy Holz, fr., 5-7 G; Isabella Maurer, fr., 5-6 G; Maddie Bernick, fr., 5-10 F; Abby Kibbel, fr., 5-11 F.
Outlook: The Dons won three of their final four conference games last season to end up in a tie for fourth and won their first playoff game. Losing Courtney Sommer and Mattea Schlafke to graduation leave two holes up front to fill, especially with team rebounding. A new group of freshmen will look to integrate into the lineup to help inside.
From Coach Wilson: “We are looking to build on the momentum we built at the end of last year. Neillsville is the team to beat in the conference but spots No. 2-5 are wide open. We have a good returning nucleus of players with varsity experience, but will also play four freshman at some point in the season. I expect us to get better throughout the season as our youth gets more comfortable playing at the varsity level.”
MARSHFIELD TIGERS
Coach (years at school, overall record): Heidi Michaelis (18th, first since 2018, 305-103).
Last season: 17-8, 11-1 tied for first place in Wisconsin Valley Conference; lost 50-42 to Hudson in WIAA Division 1 regional final.
Returning players: Hailey Klumb, jr., 5-10 F, 5.1 points, 3.7 rebounds per game in 2023-24; McKenzie Holm, sr., 5-6 G, 5 ppg, 2.8 rpg, honorable mention all-Wisconsin Valley Conference; Zaida Kolbeck, sr., 5-6 G, 9.8 ppg, 3 rpg, 4 assists per game, second-team all-Wisconsin Valley Conference; Emma Ridgway, sr., 5-10 G/F, 5.2 ppg, 2.5 rpg, honorable mention all-Wisconsin Valley Conference; Ella Allar, sr., 5-10 F, 1.1 ppg; Gracie Ridgway, sr., 5-10 G, 2 ppg; Delaney Varsho, sr., 5-5 G.
Top newcomers: Kylie Laufenberg, jr., 5-7 G/F; Lauryn Katzenberger, sr., 5-8 F; Devyn LeMoine, sr., 5-10 F.
Outlook: Heidi Michaelis returns to the head coaching position she held at Marshfield from 2001-18 as Taylor Varsho resigned after leading the Tigers to a share of the Wisconsin Valley Conference title a year ago. Marshfield returns seven players, including starting point guard Zaida Kolbeck, who scored 20 points in both of the Tigers’ first two games this season.
From Coach Michaelis: “I always have high expectations going into a season. I look for us to show improvement and continue to show growth each and every week, and to be playing our best basketball at the end of the season. We need to be a very good defensive team and to be relentless on that end of the floor, and we need to value the ball so we get the maximum number of possessions each game.”
SPENCER ROCKETS
Coach (years at school, overall record): Kyle Davis (second, 6-19).
Last season: 6-19, 1-13 tied for seventh place in Cloverbelt Conference East Division; lost to Chetek-Weyerhaeuser 49-44 in WIAA Division 4 regional quarterfinal.
Returning players: Autumn Davis, jr., 5-9 G, 15.6 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals, 1.5 blocks per game in 2023-24, honorable mention all-Cloverbelt East past two seasons; Alexa Weber, jr., 5-4 G, 4.4 ppg, 3 rpg, 1.5 spg; Ema Schultz, jr., 5-7 F, 4 ppg, 4.2 rpg; Montanna Kohls, sr., 5-4 G, 2.7 ppg; Emma Nieman, sr., 5-8 F, 2.5 ppg, 2.6 rpg; Hannah Schreiner, sr., 5-5 F, 2.5 ppg, 4.9 rpg.
Top newcomers: Carmen Krause, so., 5-8 G/F; Kaydence Plaskey, jr., 5-4 G; Alina Jackson, sr., 5-4 G.
Outlook: The Rockets won their first three games of the season heading into conference play and are hoping that ignites a move up in the Cloverbelt East.
From Coach Davis: “We have no set expectations except to have improvement in every facet of the game over last season. Constant improvement. The keys to our success will be on the defensive end. Our team always plays with tremendous effort. This season we play to make our effort on the defensive end relentless.”
STRATFORD TIGERS
Coach (years at school, overall record): Tammie Christopherson (13th)
Last season: 14-12, 11-5 tied for second place in Marawood Conference South Division; lost to Chippewa Falls McDonell 85-41 in WIAA Division 4 regional final.
Returning players: Tria Tubbs, jr., 6-0 F, 8.3 points, 8 rebounds per game, second-team all-Marawood South last season; Carly Pankratz, so., 5-6 G, 7.2 ppg, honorable mention all-Marawood South; Kayla Casperson, sr., 5-4 G, 8.7 ppg, honorable mention all-Marawood South; Emily Zuelke, jr., 6-3 F, 4.3 ppg, 4.2 rpg; Laney Pankratz, sr., 5-5 G, 3.6 ppg; MyKayla Stueber, jr., 5-8 G, 2.7 ppg; Kassedey Downey, sr., 5-10 F/G; Daisy Yoder, sr., 5-9, F; Lucy Zaleski, jr., 5-7 F; Abbi Lewerenz, sr. 5-6 F; Erika Frick, jr., 5-6 G.
Top newcomer: Alyssa Bargender, jr., 5-6 F.
Outlook: The Tigers bring back seven players from last year’s roster, and senior forward Daisy Yoder, who missed last season due to injury. Stratford is off to a 2-0 start, including a 10-point victory in its Marawood South opener over Marathon. Sophomore Carly Pankratz had 21 and 18 points in the Tigers’ two games heading into December.
From Coach Christopherson: “We have an experienced team this year with a good mix of guards and posts. We have a tough conference as always and this team will be on the hunt for a conference championship. This group of young ladies works incredibly hard, and they are feisty! We have a very diverse group of players and we will be able to score from the outside and the inside. All of our players had a great off-season and we have matured into a well-balanced team.”