G-E-T girls look to generate more offense in 2020-21
The Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau girls basketball team found themselves chasing more often than they would have liked in a 9-15 season last year.
The offense missed contributions from the school’s all-time leading scorer, 2019 graduate Lexi Wagner (21.3 points per game), along with a high-powered offensive gauntlet led by fellow graduated seniors Olivia Zielke (8.6 PPG) and Molly Schmitz (6.7 PPG). Overall, team scoring per game dropped from 59 in 2018-2019 during a season culminating in a trip to state, to just under 42 last season.
“I always think coaches should have the highest expectations of their teams no matter the year,” said third-year head coach Louis Hurd. “I thought we got on a good roll during the middle of the year, and towards the end came up short in what felt like a lot of carbon copy close games.”
Hurd added that the offensive struggles were also a byproduct of untimely injuries to players he hoped would have the opportunity to expand their roles heading into last year. Junior guard Genna O’Neill was hampered much of her sophomore season after sustaining a high ankle sprain early in the year, and senior forward Rachel Amoth also missed time after what Hurd described as a “freak injury” in a mid-season practice.
“I didn’t like the injuries we had throughout the year. Felt that disrupted some growth, collectively, and we took some time to adjust to those injuries,” Hurd said. “We had a lot of kids in new, expanded roles, and that took some time to work itself out.”
As the focus shifts to the upcoming season, Hurd said the offense should be bolstered by healthy returns from injury, defensive pressure and the athleticism of new and returning players.
“While we are not as long as in past years, our upperclassmen have quite a bit of experience playing 84 feet,” Hurd said. “I’m looking forward to seeing the amount of pressure we can put on teams, looking to create some offense out of our defense.”
Hoping to lead a lineup with more continuity this year will be returning starters Amoth (8.9 PPG), O’Neill (8.0 PPG) and Lindsey Lettner (7.8 PPG). Hurd felt each showed potential while navigating through adversity last year.
“(Amoth) makes a huge difference for us on both ends of the floor. She makes up for some defensive mistakes with her presence as a shot blocker, and tends to get some easy baskets on offense due to her strength,” Hurd said. “(Lindsey) had her growing pains last season, struggling with shots falling during the middle of the year, but overall I liked her progression. She put in an incredible amount of time this offseason, working on her skills as well as her physical strength.”
Hurd added that O’Neill is also working to round out her game, and anticipates her to be among the leaders of the team along with Lettner. Rounding out the lineup and rotation will be seniors Anna Puent, Jada Helmers and Claire Corcoran.
The junior class led by Lettner and O’Neill, but also featuring Kayli Bratberg, Aleah Hunter and Kylie Schmitz also are poised for increased playing time.
“I think each one of them has tools that can help us at the varsity level,” Hurd said. “I think it’ll be my toughest task to be able to get them all onto the floor and find success, without losing team flow.”
On staff, Jim Scherr returns as a full-time assistant after a hiatus last year. Taylor Boe returns for his second year as JV coach, and Katie Johnson returns as a varsity assistant as well.
Hurd said his own optimism for a full season in light of COVID-19 can change by the day, but said he trusts his team to make safe decisions to do their part to stay healthy.
“Obviously that’s easier said than done, especially when it comes to viral infections, but in order to keep things rolling, we have to stay healthy and safe,” Hurd said.
The Red Hawks begin their season this coming Tuesday on the road at Westby, before their home opener the following Friday versus West Salem.
