Bay Conference Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We're continuing to preview every conference in Wisconsin for this upcoming season. Today, we're shifting our attention to I-94 North and previewing the Bay Conference and the Big East-North. We'll start with the Bay, followed by the Big East-North.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>West De Pere</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Next season, the Phantoms will look different than I'm sure they planned. West De Pere will likely be without a first-team all-conference performer [player_tooltip player_id='329595' first='Ella' last='Francois'] because of a knee injury. However, there is still plenty of talent coming back to help this group compete for a conference title. [player_tooltip player_id='448251' first='Faith' last='Walder'] will be back in the Phantom backcourt following a superb season with [program_tooltip program_id='713127' first='1848' last='Legends']. Maddsyn Berrgren had a handful of outstanding performances with her 16U [program_tooltip program_id='712778' first='Purple' last='Aces'] team this summer, and the program as a whole has had a tradition of winning over the past decade, winning six Bay Conference titles. Like any program of West De Pere's stature in their conference, expect newcomers and returning players to fill most of the void left by the absence of Francois.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>New London</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On paper, the Bulldogs will not be as good as they were a season ago. Lizzie Steingraber is off and gearing up for her first season at St. Thomas, and a player like that leaving will create a void that others will need to fill to reach the levels they were at last season. Although the loss of Steingraber will sting, the Bulldogs will have some valuable experience and talent back this season. Second-Team All-Conference performer Jensen Mix and All-Conference Honorable Mentions Shelby Gladowski and Kenna Mix are all back for their senior campaigns for New London. There's still optimism in Bulldog Country for the 23-24 season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Menasha</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mara Rieder was an outstanding four-year forward for the Bluejays, and with her graduating and heading down to play college ball in Missouri, the Bluejays have some things to figure out. Menasha has to find a way to allocate Rieder's production if they want to stay in the top half of the Bay this season. Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='636285' first='Rayanna' last='Jenkins'] played well in her first season of high school ball, and she'll need to take her game to another level next season if Menasha wants to be a competitive group in the Bay.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Shawnao</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Looking at this iteration of the Hawks, every scouting report from opposing teams will have one name on it, [player_tooltip player_id='474774' first='Leah' last='Nordin']. The versatile 6-1 wing has been catching the eyes of college coaches in the region for a few years now and had an excellent summer playing at the 17U level with [program_tooltip program_id='713038' first='Wisconsin' last='Blaze']. Her ability to affect the games on both ends of the floor is well known in the Bay Conference as she led the conference in scoring as a freshman and earned one of the three players named Defensive Player of the Year alongside [player_tooltip player_id='329595' first='Ella' last='Francois'] and Lizzie Steingraber. Few kids can will their teams to wins, but Nordin has it. It'll be hard for anyone to have someone defend her on their own this season. Remember, this Hawks team was the only team to beat West De Pere in Conference last season, so don't be surprised if the Hawks make a run toward the top of the conference.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Xavier</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Hawks are a sneaky team in D3 and the Bay. All three of the Krull's will be at Xavier next season. I'm unsure if [player_tooltip player_id='766628' first='Brynn' last='Krull'] will be healthy, but Joy and Elle will be two prominent figures for the Hawks next season. Xavier will also have plenty of returners who played significant minutes last season. [player_tooltip player_id='267000' first='Halle' last='Vande Hey'] and Carsyn Stempa will be figures that could take this team to another level.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Seymour</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Seymour program is continuing to rebuild after their talented group led by Hailey Oskey in the late 2010s.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Green Bay East and Green Bay West</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Green Bay schools in the Bay will be rebuilding this season, and West will hopefully have a complete program.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>My Predictions</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list {"ordered":true} --> <ol><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Xavier</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>West De Pere</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Shawano</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>New London</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Menasha</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Seymour</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Green Bay East</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Green Bay West</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ol> <!-- /wp:list -->