Norse girls team looks to continue to build

After a breakthrough season in 2020-21, the Whitehall girls basketball team is hoping to build on the success going forward.

The Norse had their first winning season in more than a decade, going 13-10 before losing to Dairyland Conference Large Division champion Blair-Taylor in the regional semifinal last year. While last season was a success compared to what the program had done recently, the hope is that it was just the start of a rebuilding project.

“When I stepped back into coaching, my staff and I knew our youth program had to be a focus in addition to our junior high and high school programs,” coach Beth Lisowski said. 

Lisowski returned to the program two seasons ago after a successful first stint. Whitehall had five wins in her first season back on the bench, but the Norse broke through last year. Now, she expects to reap the benefits of the time put in at the lower levels.

“The last two years, we worked hard to create solid youth programs and have been fortunate to have very dedicated and knowledgeable coaches at that level and at the junior high level,” Lisowski said.  “At the same time, we have been able to create a culture of winning at the high school level and that is huge when you are rebuilding a program.”

What she has this year is a solid mix of returning players and young players who can help continue a run of success.

Whitehall returns its leading scorer from last year, Norah Youngbauer, who averaged 9.3 points per game as a sophomore. Another starter returning is Nylah Lisowski, who averaged eight points and nine rebounds per game.

McKenna Pientok, Brenna Clatt are two seniors who have played varsity the last two years and Avery Sonsalla is a junior who saw the court quite a bit last season.

“All three girls have varsity playing experience, but will need to step forward to be scoring threats this season,” Lisowski said.

The Whitehall coach said her team should have much better depth this year too. They have 27 players out, allowing them to have junior varsity and a c-team in addition to the varsity squad. 

“We are welcoming a strong and talented group of freshmen this season who I think will have a huge impact on our high school program overall,” Lisowski said.

With the younger players and older players who understand the coaching staff’s system and expectations, Lisowski thinks her team got off to a strong start when they began practicing last week.

“When the season started, we were able to start where we left off last season and just continue to move forward and improve,” Lisowski said. “The goal is to continue to get better each day.”

Whitehall’s first game was Tuesday when they went to Independence. On Thursday they’ll head to Gilmanton and then will be off until their home opener on Nov. 30 against Melrose-Mindoro.