Eagles picked for 5th in Badger North

EDITOR’S NOTE: The following preview of the Badger North Conference girls basketball season was compiled by Wissports.net. Currently, some schools in the conference aren’t sure if they’ll have a season due to Dane County guidelines surrounding COVID-19. If there is a season, though, here’s how Wissports predicts it will go.   2019-20 Recap  Beaver Dam went undefeated in the Badger North and advanced to the Division 2 state tournament for the fourth consecutive season. The Golden Beavers were looking to become the first team in state history to win four consecutive state titles, but COVID-19 forced the WIAA to cancel the state tournament after day one, and Beaver Dam ended the year 23-3. DeForest finished second in the league with a 12-2 record and advanced to a D2 sectional before losing to Oregon, 57-46, to end the year with a 21-4 record. Waunakee took third (10-4) in the league and reached Division 1 sectional play before dropping a 70-58 contest against Madison Memorial.  Reedsburg took fourth (8-6) in the conference and went 15-9 overall. The rest of the league standings went Mount Horeb (5-9), Sauk Prairie (5-9), Baraboo (1-13) and Portage (1-13).    2020-21 Preview  Predicted Order of Finish 1) Beaver Dam 2) Reedsburg 3) Waunakee  4) DeForest  5) Sauk Prairie   6) Mount Horeb  7) Baraboo  8) Portage    Players to Watch  Naomi Breunig, sr., Sauk Prairie – Breunig, a 5-foot-10 wing/guard, finished second in the Badger North in scoring with 18 per game and received first-team all-Badger North as a junior. She is committed to NCAA Division II Winona State University.  Olivia Breunig, sr., Sauk Prairie – Breunig, 5-foot-9 wing/guard, averaged 8.0 points per game as a junior for the Eagles.  Trenna Cherney, jr., Reedsburg – Cherney, a 5-foot-10 forward, was voted first-team all-league as a sophomore, averaging 14.5 points per contest for the Beavers.  Jaelyn Derlein, soph., DeForest – Derlein, a 5-foot-7 guard, could be headed for breakout campaign after averaging 8.3 points per game as a freshman.  Paige Hodgson, sr., Beaver Dam – Hodgson, a 6-foot-3 wing/forward, tallied 5.0 points per game for the Golden Beavers as a junior. She is signed with NCAA Division I Northern Kentucky.  Natalie Jens, sr., Beaver Dam – Jens, a 5-foot-7 guard, received first-team all-conference honors as a junior for the Golden Beavers. The NCAA Division II Minnesota State Moorhead signee averaged 13.8 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. Jens also shot 46-for-125 from 3-point land.  Elena Maier, sr., Waunakee – Maier, a 5-foot-9 guard, was selected first-team all-league as a junior, averaging 14.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.5 steals per game as a junior. She also connected on 37 three-pointers last season. Maier, who is currently out while recovering from ACL surgery, is committed to NCAA Division I Kent State University.  Julia Magnuson, sr., Mount Horeb – Magnuson, a 6-foot forward, was named first-team all-conference as a junior, averaging 14.8 points per game for the Vikings.  Kailee Meeker, sr., Waunakee – Meeker, a 5-foot-10 guard, tallied 9.2 points and 3.2 rebounds per game as a junior. She holds an NCAA Division II offer from St. Cloud State University.  Taylor Pfaff, soph., Baraboo – Pfaff, a 5-foot-7 point guard, averaged 12.6 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game as a freshman for Thunderbirds.  Grace Roth, sr., DeForest – Roth, a 6-foot wing/guard, averaged 13.2 points and 7.2 rebounds per game in 13 games played last season for the Norskies.  Maya White Eagle, sr., Baraboo – White Eagle, a 5-foot-7 guard, averaged 8.8 points with 29 three-pointers to go along with 1.5 assists and 2.1 steals per game as a junior for Madison Memorial. She holds a few junior college offers as well as an NAIA offer from Iowa Wesleyan.  Mahra Wieman, jr., Reedsburg – Wieman, a 5-foot-10 wing, averaged 20 points per game with 35 three-pointers as a sophomore, earning first-team all-conference.  Maty Wilke, sr., Beaver Dam – Wilke, a 5-foot-10 guard, was voted Badger North Player of the Year and WBCA Division 2 all-state as a junior. The Wisconsin signee averaged 16.7 points, 8 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game, and shot 46-for-129 from behind the arc. three-pointers. Wilke is the program’s all-time leading scorer with over 1,160 points.  Unfortunately for Wilke and the Beavers, though, she suffered a torn ACL last week.   2020-21 Team  Previews  1) Beaver Dam  The Beavers have won the past three Division 2 state titles and is the favorite to take home another gold ball this season. The Golden Beavers welcome back six letter-winners, including three starters from last year’s team that finished 23-3 overall and advanced to the state tournament for the fourth consecutive year.  Coach Tim Chase enters his 16th year at the helm and has compiled a 269-97 record over that span, and owns a career record of 400-163. Chase told WSN that strengths include a strong senior class and younger kids wanting to prove themselves. He noted that a weakness is trying to replace Jada Donaldson, who is now playing at UW-Milwaukee. Headlining the group of returners is University of Wisconsin signee Maty Wilke, a 5-foot-10 guard, who was named Badger North Player of the Year and WBCA Division 2 all-state after averaging 16.7 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game as a junior.  Wilke suffered a torn ACL last week, though, and will miss the rest of the season. That means the attention now turns to seniors Natalie Jens (5-7, MN State Moorhead signee) and Paige Hodgson (6-3, Valparaiso signee), who averaged 13.8 and 5.0 points per game, respectively.  Other returning letterwinners are seniors Avery Stonewall (5-10, 5.6 ppg) and Paige Yagodinski (5-11, 3.7 ppg), and sophomore Kylie Wittnebel (6-0, 5.1 ppg). Newcomers who will be competing for playing time include sophomores Maddie Kuenzi (5-8), Carlee Lapen (5-7) and Bella Oesteicher (5-9), and freshman Gabby Wilke (6-1), Anni Sallitel (5-11) and Riley Czarnecki (5-10).  Gabby Wilke is Maty’s sister and already holds an NCAA Division I offer from UW-Milwaukee. Beaver Dam is averaging an eye-popping 98.2 points per game through four games this season, scoring at least 100 twice.    2) Reedsburg  The Beavers return their entire roster that went 8-6 in the Badger North and 15-9 overall. Mark Simon and Reedsburg  are returning first-team all-league picks in juniors Mahra Wieman (5-10) and Trenna Cherney (5-10), who averaged 20 and 14.5 points per game, respectively.  Other top returners include juniors Melissa Dietz (5-9, 8.2 ppg), Grace Benish (5-10, 6.2 ppg, 32 3PM), Mckenzie Bestor (5-6, 5.8 ppg) and Macie Wieman (5-10, 3.7 ppg, 6.0 apg). Sophomore Ruby Olsen (5-8) also returns as a notable contributor. The Beavers are also expected to get an impact from freshman Sydney Cherney.  Reedsburg is ranked No. 7 in the WisSports.net Division 2 Preseason Top 10.    3) Waunakee  The Warriors welcome back three starters from their 2019-20 team that finished third in the league and 19-6 overall. Second-year head coach Marcus Richter told WisSports.net that they have a lot of athletes who can get up and down the floor.  “We should be able to score the ball and turn people over with our pressure defense,” Richter said. Richter said that their biggest question mark is who will step up and handle the ball. The Warriors’ main ball-handlers from last season graduated and they will also be without leading scorer and Kent State signee Elena Maier (5-9, 14.7 ppg) for an unknown length of time after she suffered a torn ACL over the summer.  Other returners who spent time in starting five last season include seniors Lauren Statz (5-9, 4.7 ppg) and Kailee Meeker (5-10, 9.2 ppg). Additional returning letterwinners are juniors Lauren Meudt (6.3 ppg), Kylee Grabarski (3.2 ppg), Ashley Sawicki (4.1 ppg) and Ava Bryan, senior Ebba Harrison, and sophomore Elsa Stedman.   4) DeForest  The Norskies return seven letter-winners from last year’s team that advanced to sectional play and finished the year with a 21-4 record. DeForest will need to fill the void left with the graduation of nine seniors, including three of their top four scorers.  Coach Jerry Schwenn, who enters his sixth year at the helm, told WSN that strengths include work ethic, depth, and athleticism.  “Development of roles, team leadership, inside play are the main questions entering this season,” Schwenn said.  Top returners for the Norkies are seniors Grace Roth (6-0, 13.2 ppg) and Natalie Compe (5-7, 4.7 ppg), and sophomore Jaelyn Derlein (5-7, 8.3 ppg). Other returning letterwinners for the Norskies are seniors Morgan Hahn (5-9) and Kendall Rauls (5-2), and juniors Maya Pickardt (5-8) and Jocelyn Pickhardt. The 5-foot-8 Jocelyn missed time last season with ACL injury.  A number of others will be in the mix for playing time, including freshman Rylan Oberg, who could make an immediate impact.    5) Sauk Prairie  The Eagles will look to improve upon their 13-11 record from last season. Sauk Prairie has a new leader this season with Aaron Andres serving as the interim head coach. Andres is one of the assistant principals at the school and has been an assistant for the boys’ team the past five years.  “We are returning a number of girls who played a lot of minutes last year and will have a very athletic team,” Andres told WSN.  He noted that concerns will revolve around guard play. Nine letterwinners return for the Eagles, led by 5-foot-10 senior Naomi Breunig, a Winona State signee, who averaged 18 points per game and earned first-team all-conference last season.  Other top returners are senior Olivia Breunig (5-9, 8.0 ppg) and sophomore Maggie Hartwig (5-11, 7.0 ppg). Additional players who spend time in the starting five last season include juniors Olivia Paukner (5-11, 5.8 ppg), Karissa Marquardt (5-8, 5.4 ppg), Makenzie Breunig (5-10, 5.1 ppg) and Faith Holler (5-5). Sophomore guard Kaya Wilson is also expected to compete for minutes.    6) Mount Horeb  The Vikings welcome back four starters from last year’s team that went 5-9 in the league and 12-11 overall last season. Coach Tom Lesar, who enters the year with a 235-218 record in his 14 years as a girls’ coach, told WSN that the majority of their scoring is back and the team has really good team chemistry.  Leading the way for the Vikings is 6-foot forward Julia Magnuson, a first-team all-league choice, who averaged 14.8 points per game as a junior. Joining her as returning starters are fellow seniors Grace Vesperman (5-6, 6.5 ppg), Emma Anderson (5-10, 6.0 ppg) and Emily Wallace (5-5, 4.7 ppg).  Additional returners are juniors Leah Leibfried (6-0), Olivia Burke and Myesha Thompson, and senior Addie Bies (5-11).    7) Baraboo  The Thunderbirds posted a 1-13 Badger North record and ended the 2019-20 season 3-20 overall. Coach Michael Behl, who enters his eighth year as head coach, told WSN that they are going into the season with more experience than last season, despite the graduation of four seniors.  “We are bringing back five players from last season who played varsity for the first time in their careers, including three who played as freshmen,” Behl said.  Behl added that Baraboo’s strengths will be its ability to get to the rim, shoot from the perimeter, and length to disrupt passing lanes of opponents.  Highlighting the group of returners is 5-foot-7 point guard Taylor Pfaff, who averaged 12.5 points per contest as a freshman. The Thunderbirds added Madison Memorial transfer in Maya White Eagle, who averaged 8.8 points per game as a junior for the 24-2 Spartans.  Another key addition is 6-foot-1 junior McKenzie Gruner, who didn’t play last season to focus on club volleyball. Other returners include senior Natasha Hess, juniors Emma Fluette and Claire Bildsten, and sophomore Jayden Ross. Freshman Jaydynn Gruner and Caitlyn Frank are also expected to contribute.    8) Portage  The Warriors went 1-13 in the conference and 2-21 overall last season. Portage’s top returners are seniors Emma Kreuziger (4.5 ppg) and Genna Garrigan (3.4 ppg) and junior Cameran Ratz (4.3 ppg).