Heart o' Lakes Conference Preview

Here we go. Our 5th annual conference previews. We expect to have maybe 40 of them over the next 2 months. First up is the Heart o' Lakes. Hawley won 9 of 11 conference championships from 2005 to 2015 and played in the state tournament in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2010, all under coach Bill Gottenborg. Gottenborg is still on board but the Nuggets are now just 5-18 in the Heart O’ Lakes Conference the past 2 years. Hawley will be a bit better in 2018, but the new normal is this: Barnesville, Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton and Pelican Rapids will battle for the conference title won by Barnesville in 2017, DGF in 2016 and Pelican Rapids only way back in 2012. Rebel point guard Natalie Steichen and Trojans guard Nicole Herbranson will be teammates at MSU-Moorhead in the fall of 2018, but for now they’ll compete for a HoL championship and player of the year honors. Meanwhile, much depends on the return to form of Kaylie Isaman at Pelican Rapids. OUR PREDICTIONS 1. Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton 10-2 (9-3, tie 2nd last year) DGF took its 1st conference title in at least a dozen years in 2016, then fell to 9-3 (2nd tie) last year as a couple of experienced players decided to forego their senior seasons of basketball. On the bright side, that did help (now) senior post Grace Steichen to emerge as a star with 17 ppg and 11 boards. Point guard Natalie Steichen, also a senior, needed no such emergence, she was already an established star. One of the state’s quickest and most active players, she is always on the move, always looking to make a play on either side of the ball. She shoots the 3, pushes the pace and distributes the ball, and she is a devastating help defender who blind-sides people with her quickness. The Steichens have help from Rae and Allie Critchley and Kaitlyn Brenna, and that ought to be enough. 2. Barnesville 9-3 (11-1, 1st) Nicole Herbranson is a stud. We saw her in the metro area twice last summer with the Cyclones, and she dominated pretty much every guard she saw. She was unstoppable on offense, scoring off the bounce with pull-up jumpers (mostly) but also at the rim. But, the Trojans lose center Peyton Boom and her 16.5 ppg. Seniors Andira McIntyre, Grace Mulcahy and Emma Nielsen return but nobody is bigger than Herbranson at 5-9. 3. Pelican Rapids 9-3 (9-3, tied 2nd) The Pelicans—oh, sorry, make that the Vikings—ended up 9-3 and disappointed a year ago. Adrianna Torres, a 5-10 junior, emerged as a great player with 17 ppg. She plays inside, but can step out and hit the 3 and handles the ball like a 1. But the actual 1, Kaylie Isaman, also still just a junior, saw her production fall from 10 ppg to just 4 due to injuries. If Isaman is 100 percent, the Pelicans—oops, make that the Vikings—will be just fine, because there is also a lot of help, including 6-0 senior Morgan Berg, which means they’ll be bigger than just about everybody, too. But, we have Barnesville #2 and Pelican #3 just in case Isaman is not all the way back. 4. Breckenridge 5-7 (4-8, 5th) There’s a big drop to 4th place. Breckenridge is led by guards Ashtyn Kahler (5-7, junior, 13.5 ppg) and Sophie Aigner (5-4, senior, 13 ppg), and there’s help with senior Claire Conzemius and Abby Steckler inside. The Cowgirls will be improved, but not enough. 5. Hawley 4-8 (3-8, 6th) Hawley will be improved a little bit, too, but not enough. Marissa Thompson, 6-2 senior, and sophomore Emily Tjaden are the conference’s top 1-2 punch inside with a total of 15 ppg last year. And, guard Rianna Lilleby emerged as a reliable perimeter scorer (10 ppg). Again, not quite enough. 6. Perham 3-11 (5-7, 4th) Perham won 44 conference games in 3 years ending in 2011 but has gone 20-51 since. This year looks like more of the same. They had their best record since 2012 last year but lost Josie Beachy, Janie Wunderlich and 3 other seniors. 5-9 senior forward Gabby DeBoer is a good one (11 ppg) but she will be surrounded by new faces this year. 7. Frazee 2-12 (0-11, 7th) Frazee has also declined from 7-5 in 2013 to 7-40 since then. Sophomores Paige Zeigler and Paige Oswald are the future. All-Heart O’ Lakes Center—Grace Steichen, DGF, 5-11, senior, 17 ppg-11 reb last year Power Forward—Adrianna Torres, Pelican Rapids, 5-10, junior, 17 ppg Small Forward—Gabby DeBoer, Perham, 5-9, senior, 11 ppg Point Guard—Natalie Steichen, DGF, 5-7, senior, 20 ppg Shooting Guard—Nicole Herbranson, Barnesville, 5-9, senior, 17 ppg 2nd Team Center—Marissa Thompson, Hawley, 6-2, senior, 10 ppg Power Forward—Claire Conzemius, Breckenridge, senior, 7 ppg Small Forward—Paige Zeigler, Frazee, 5-8, sophomore, 14 ppg Point Guard—Kaylie Isaman, Pelican Rapids, 5-8, junior, 4 ppg Shooting Guard—Ashtyn Kaehler, Breckenridge, junior, 13.5 ppg Risers Center—Emily Thaden, Hawley, sophomore, 5 ppg Forward—Sarah Thompson, Pelican Rapids, 5-8, junior, 6 ppg Point Guard—Paige Oswald, Frazee, 5-7, sophomore, 3 ppg in 2016 Shooting Guard—Rianna Lilleby, Hawley, 10 ppg Shooting Guard—Alyce Erdman, Pelican Rapids, 6 ppg