We Got Next

Girls Basketball preview

Now that the boys have gotten a couple of games under their belt it’s time for the Girls teams to tip off their season.
On Monday Grant will travel to Ravenna and White Cloud will open against the Cardinals of Mason County Eastern.
On Tuesday Fremont hosts former Lakes 8 rival Spring Lake while Newaygo opens at home against the Tigers of Montague and Holton visits Eagle Country at Oakridge

Newaygo Lions
Last season: 6-16, 3-7 in CSAA
Coach: Nate Thomasma
Key Returnees
Seniors: Addison Goodin and Maria Riddering
Juniors: Kija Westbrook, Naomi Schillman
Sophomore: Amaya Lathrop
Promising Newcomers
Senior: Elsha Jibson
Juniors: Gracie Bazzett, Karissa Carlson, Thalia Pineda
Sophomore: Lillian Holmes
Team strengths
We have a lot of girls that can play in different positions.  Got five girls that are back on the Varsity team this year that played a good amount of minutes last year. 
 Biggest team challenge
Taking care of the ball and consistent scoring.  Last year we struggled in these areas and we have to get better at them to be more competitive in our league.
Probable conference frontrunners
Morley Stanwood, Kent City, Grant
Coach Thomasma
I like the 10 girls we have on the team this year.  We're just trying to stack good practices on top of each other so we can compete in a tough CSAA Gold Conference this year.  

White Cloud Indians
Last year: 8-13, 4-8 i CSAA
Coach: Caleb Wilk
Key Returnees
We have six girls returning to the varsity team from last year.
Jaden Gomez is a three-year varsity player. She will be setting up our offense, and she will be a terror on defense. We are going to rely on her experience a lot this year.
 Annie Feldpausch, Kadence Nickoloff, Gracy Holmes, Brooke Ringler, and Tanayah Klammer round out our other five returning players. All five of these young ladies have playing experience from last year, and I am confident in putting any of them into the starting lineup based on what the team needs.
 Promising newcomers
We are adding four new faces to our varsity team this year. The juniors include Keira Baker, Brooklyn Foondle, and Isabella Shockley. These three did very well on JV last year and are quick learners.We are adding sophomore Payten Bird to the roster this year as well. Payton did an excellent job this summer and earned her spot on the varsity team.
 Team strengths
Our team strengths are going to be experience and speed. With limited practice time before our first game, I am excited that we have plenty of experience from last year's team returning. We will also use our speed as an advantage whenever we can.
 Biggest team challenge
We lack height. Rebounding takes work for us, and we must make sure we box out; otherwise, we will be giving up too many second-chance opportunities. 
Probable conference frontrunners
Coach Raven's Morley Stanwood team will be the team to beat this year. Big Rapids is always challenging, and Kent City seems to be reloading. We hope to challenge these teams, but we will need to find some offensive firepower to keep pace with them.
 Coach Wilk
I am very excited to see what this team can accomplish together. What our team lacks in height, they make up for it with heart. This team is a scrappy bunch that loves to play defense. We might surprise a few teams if we hit a few shots in big moments. 

Fremont Packers
Last Year 9-15, 5-7 in WMC
Coach Peter Zerfas 1st year
Returning Starters
From what I saw there were many starters from last year's team.  The two listed are girls who started most games.
Jessica Bennett    Sr.   All Conference last season....9 points per game
Mia Clemence      Jr.     Talented guard/forward combo player
Returning Letter Winners
Katie Ackerman    Sr
Olivia Hansen     Sr
Elise Pfeiffer          Sr
Riley Chase       Jr
Khaila Noordyk    Jr
Newcomers to Varsity
Hallie Snyder        So
Grace Evans       So
Eliana VandenBerg  So
Taylor DeKuiper     Fr
We have a nice mix of senior leadership and youth on our varsity team.  The program has only won 19 games in the last 3 years combined, but there are a lot of returning players who are hungry to turn that around.  They made a nice run towards the end of last season and we hope to build upon that.   I think we have a nice mix of size and speed and are athletic in multiple positions.  We had a good summer going 9-4 in our scrimmages making it to the Ferris State University Summer Camp finals before losing to a talented team from Indiana.  How well we work together and learn a new system will help to determine success.  If we can rebound and reduce turnovers we will be in most games.
Team Strengths
I think we are athletic and though we only have 11 players on varsity, we are deep and can play a lot of players.
Team Challenges
Scoring.  This group only averaged 34 points per game last season.  We will need to find a way to generate points.
League Favorite
Ludington has won the last 5 conference championships and 6 of the last 7.  They look strong and until someone beats them they are the favorite.  Whitehall returns most of their players off a 15 win team and received a D2 level player as a transfer from Montague.....so they will be very strong.  This league on the girls side is very good, every team can win it seems.  Manistee, Montague, Oakridge all have strong girls programs and Orchard View always seems to have good athletes.  
Coach Zerfas
I like what I am seeing early on.  Our girls are working hard and should steadily improve as the season goes on.  We have good athletes and shooters so as we learn a new system it is going to be fun to watch.

Grant Tigers
Last Year 14-8, 6-4 in CSAA
Coach Josh Delamater
 Key Returnees  
We return one of the area's best players in senior Julie Ashbaugh. Jocee Pluene is entering her third year as a varsity player and is one of the best full court defenders around. 
Promising newcomers 
 Bella Welch. She's not new to the area. After two years playing a key role for Newaygo on their long runs in the tournament, Bella sat out a year after transferring to Grant. She is a tenacious player and will be a huge asset on the floor. 
Team strengths 
 Experience will be a plus for us this year. Coupled with our relentless pressure on both sides of the court, we will be able to compete nightly. 
Biggest team challenge 
 Size is an issue for us and consistency outside of 15 feet. 
Probable conference frontrunners
Big Rapids should be the top contender. They graduated some great talent, but their JV team was solid last year. Kent City will be right there also, Maddie Geers is one of the best players in this area and will be supported by a solid group of freshmen.
Coach Delamater;
We were a youthful team last year with 5 sophomores playing varsity for the first time and logging significant minutes. That experience will have a huge impact on our season this year. 

Holton Red Devils
Last season: 12-12
Coach B.J. Jordan
Key returnees
Abbie Fowler 1st team all conference 
Ryann Robins 1st team all conference 
Layla Cannady 
Aubrey Goyings 
Newcomers
I have zero new girls on team this year, we just lost two seniors from last year 
Strength 
Experience, two 4 year starters and one 3 year starter, returning 4 starters from last year.
Challenges
Size and Depth only 3 on the bench  
Conference front runner
 It would have to be Hart, they are returning a bunch of talent coming off a banner year.
 Coach Jordan
Great group of girls, and our goal this year is to compete to the best of our abilities night in and night out, and I feel if we can do that we will be happy where we end up at the end of the year… short handed or not I feel we have a team that can compete with the teams  on our schedule this year.