Team Previews: Alburnett, Algona, Alta-Aurelia

&nbsp; <hr /> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Alburnett Pirates</strong> 9-12 last year 38.5 points scored, 42.2 points against 12 returning players</p> There is plenty of reason for hope at Alburnett this winter, as the Pirates return their top scorer, rebounder and assist player from last season. Alburnett finished with nine wins and boasts senior <strong>Megan Neighbor</strong> back to lead the charge. Neighbor scored almost 12 points per game a season ago, while junior Hailey <strong>Carolan</strong> pulled in nine rebounds and senior <strong>Madison Graubard</strong> dished out 46 assists. Senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="165060" first="Rhea" last="Armon"]</strong> is also back after scoring 196 points and knocking down 36 three-pointers. Neighbor also picked up 65 steals and Graubard had 22. <p style="text-align: left;">Notable returners:</p> <p style="text-align: left;">Madison Graubard - 4.4 PPG, 2.2 APG Hailey Carolan - 4.9 PPG, 9.0 RPG Megan Neighbor - 11.9 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 3.3 SPG [player_tooltip player_id="165060" first="Rhea" last="Armon"] - 9.3 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 1.5 APG</p> &nbsp; <hr /> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Algona Bulldogs</strong> 13-10 last year 53.1 points scored, 48.7 points against 8 returning players</p> Algona bid farewell to a talented group of seniors from a year ago. Now, the Bulldogs will look to returning players such as <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="160572" first="Lillian" last="Etherington"]</strong> and <strong>A’Lailiah Perry</strong> to carry the load. Etherington scored 109 points with 21 made three-pointers, 52 rebounds, 19 steals and 18 assists a year ago, with Perry adding 46 points, 34 boards and eight blocks. Algona lost the likes of [player_tooltip player_id="67492" first="Abbey" last="Holmes"], [player_tooltip player_id="135128" first="Kameryn" last="Etherington"], [player_tooltip player_id="135150" first="Molly" last="McCauley"], Ashlin Young and [player_tooltip player_id="135096" first="Aliyah" last="Buscher"] from a team that reached the Class 3A regional semifinals. <p style="text-align: left;">Notable returners:</p> <p style="text-align: left;">[player_tooltip player_id="160572" first="Lillian" last="Etherington"] - 4.7 PPG, 2.3 RPG A’Lailiah Perry - 2.4 PPG, 1.8 RPG Tara Solbach - 2.9 PPG, 1.5 RPG</p> &nbsp; <hr /> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Alta-Aurelia Warriors</strong> 2-20 last year 32.8 points scored, 58.0 points against 10 returning players</p> Despite a difficult end to the regular season, Alta-Aurelia pushed Manson Northwest Webster to the end in the regional opener last year. The Warriors will hope that confidence helps them in trying to get back on track. Sophomore <strong>Brielle Engelmann</strong> led the team with 135 points last year, averaging just over six per game. She also had a team-high 30 assists, while senior <strong>Alaina Westphal</strong> led the way on the glass with 109 boards. <strong>Shea Peterson</strong>, <strong>Jenna Nielsen, Sierra Hill, Alli Magnussen</strong> and <strong>Kiersten Ryherd</strong> earned varsity starters and are also back. <p style="text-align: left;">Notable returners:</p> <p style="text-align: left;">[player_tooltip player_id="135143" first="Chloe" last="Kruger"] - 6.3 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 2.1 BPG Brielle Engelmann - 6.1 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 1.7 SPG Alaina Westphal - 4.8 PPG, 5.0 RPG Kiersten Ryherd - 4.4 PPG, 1.1 APG</p>