Dairyland-Small Conference Preview
After looking at some schools in the western part of the state yesterday, we’re staying over there and talking small-school basketball within the Dairyland Conferences. The Dairyland produced Blair-Taylor, who played in the D5 state title, and a few others…
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Continue ReadingAfter looking at some schools in the western part of the state yesterday, we’re staying over there and talking small-school basketball within the Dairyland Conferences. The Dairyland produced Blair-Taylor, who played in the D5 state title, and a few others that ended their seasons playing in Regional Title games.
Alma Center Lincoln
The Hornets lost some key pieces last season but return an exciting sophomore back in Ava Cummings. Cummings had a solid first season for Alma Center Lincoln and showed she could shoot the ball and hit some big shots when the opportunity arose. Her experience will be critical for the Hornets as they attempt to defend their conference crown, and if they do, Cummings will be a significant reason why they compete.
Eau Claire Immanuel Lutheran
The Lancers competed with Alma Center Lincoln over the course of the season. Although the final standings don’t show the Lancers and Hornets being that close to each other, they produced some entertaining games at the top of the conference. The Lancers have plenty of kids back this season, like Sophia Carstensen and Hannah Kazemba, who led the team in rebounding last season. There is a real chance that the Lancers could unseat the Hornets this season, and with the talent they have back, I’d say they’re probably the favorites.
Alma/Pepin
One of the rarest things in small school basketball, especially at public schools, is teams getting back their leading scorer. What makes Alma/Pepin a rarity is they don’t have their top scorer back. They have their top two scorers back in Finley Noll and Wallice Helmin. I love keeping tabs on is how strong having the same core back is from the previous campaign, which makes this Alma/Pepin group an intriguing one in their conference.
Independence
Independence/Gilmanton weren’t that far off from finishing outside of fourth in their conference after what I presume was a merger midseason. The issue for them will be replacing kids from last year while still finding ways to improve from this past season. I’m not sure if they’ll be a co-op next season, so there’s unknowns with this group.
Gilmanton
Like I say with any team who lost their season in one way or another, I hope that Gilmanton can field a team for next season.
My Predictions
- Eau Claire Immanuel Lutheran
- Alma/Pepin
- Alma Center Lincoln
- Independence
- Gilmanton