The new era is off to a great start in Alexandria

It's not easy replacing a legend. That was the task facing Matt Hoelscher entering the 2025-26 high school basketball season. The new coach at Alexandria is doing his best to fill the shoes of the great Wendy Kohler, one of the most successful coaches in the history of Minnesota girls basketball, who retired at the conclusion of last season. So far so good. The Cardinals won their first eight games to kick off the new era.   How good were Kohler's Cardinals? Really, really good. Alexandria won the Central Lakes Conference in each of the last three seasons, going 44-0 over that stretch. They went to state seven times in the past nine years in Class 3A, including the last three seasons. With a model culture, a strong youth program and excellent community support, Alexandria has been the type of program most schools aspire to be. But this year was never going to be easy.   Not only have the Cardinals been moved up a class to 4A due to enrollment growth, they are making the transition having graduated an elite 2025 class that featured some of the premier players in school history. Now averaging over 20 minutes a game at South Dakota State, Hadley Thul was a 2,000-point scorer ranked 7th in the Class of 2025. The Cardinals lost three 1,000-point scorers, too: Allie Haabala (Southwest Minnesota State), MaCee Linow (Bemidji State), and Chloe Scholl (Gustavus Adolphus). Camree Miller was a key piece of the puzzle, too. The Cardinals returned just 15 points per game from last year's lineup.   Hoelscher credits Kohler and her long-time assistant Julie Wrobel for the relatively smooth transition to date. “With what they built I could just kind of step in and keep the flow going,” said the coach. “We graduated a lot of people, but we had a lot of girls at the JV level that were playing a lot of minutes. They are all just stepping up playing different roles.”   Rising to the occasion   Alexandria as a group is quick and fast, with height up front and nice length throughout the lineup. They play with energy, compete hard on a daily basis, and are carrying on a well-established culture. “We've had really good guard play this year with [player_tooltip player_id='643749' first='McKinley' last='Hoelscher'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1090111' first='Riley' last='Beyer'],” said coach Hoelscher. “[player_tooltip player_id='502537' first='Kate' last='Hennessy'] has been playing really well lately, so those are our three with the most varsity experience. We're really leaning on them, and girls are buying into their role and accepting it and just playing unselfish basketball.”    The core of the revamped Alexandria lineup looks like this:   <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='502537' first='Kate' last='Hennessy'] – The 6-foot forward is a top-50 prospect among Minnesota seniors. She has the most experience among the returners and earned All-Conference honors last winter. Kate has upped her production to 9 points and 5.6 rebounds per game on 45% shooting from the field. She's long and strong and can defend the post and the perimeter.</li>   <li>[player_tooltip player_id='643749' first='McKinley' last='Hoelscher'] – Pictured above, the 5'7 junior guard, ranked 63rd in the Class of 2027, made a splash as a youngster before hitting a few bumps in the road. Her game has taken off again and the coach's daughter has been outstanding. She leads the team at 15 points per game along with 4.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists. She's shooting 45% from two-point range, 41% from three. McKinley is a versatile asset who can score in multiple ways. She's also a fierce, physical defender who makes her voice heard on the floor.</li>   <li>[player_tooltip player_id='1090111' first='Riley' last='Beyer'] – The freshman point guard is having a stellar rookie campaign. Big things have been expected from Riley – she's ranked #26 in the Class of 2029 – but she is delivering much sooner than anticipated. A high IQ operator who makes plays and scores in numerous ways, she is Alexandria's second-leading point producer at 11.1 ppg with 4.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists. Her length is weapon-like defensively.</li>   <li>[player_tooltip player_id='502547' first='Hope' last='Stark'] – The 5'8 senior is probably the Cardinals' least-appreciated talent. One of the hardest-working players we've watched, the top-100 prospect brings a spark of energy every time she's on the court. She is a strong, physical defender with presence and poise. She can guard multiple positions and is an excellent shooter from distance. The Mount Marty University commit is a key piece to the Alex puzzle.</li>   <li>[player_tooltip player_id='502543' first='Lauren' last='Beyer'] – The gifted guard is easing her way into the lineup now having returned from a year-long absence with an ACL injury. Ranked #48 among Minnesota seniors, Beyer is a high-skill competitor and one of the premier three-point shooters around. By the time the stretch run of the season rolls around we would expect Lauren to be a major factor for the Cardinals.</li> </ul>   Other key pieces for Alex include 6-foot senior post Scotland Brown (5.3 ppg, 3 rebounds), 6-foot freshman post [player_tooltip player_id='1280012' first='Dayton' last='Running'] (2.2, 2.7) and 5'7 junior guard Abby Evink (5.6 ppg).   “Last year, McKinley was more of a role player, and now she's had to step up and is one of our go-to girls. She's having a phenomenal year on both ends of the floor,” said the coach. “Riley has really improved. Kate, too. She's in a different role. She was kind of a screener and now we expect a lot out of her. Hope and Abby are really doing a fantastic job. And Scotland has been owning that paint and is doing a great job on the glass.”   Coach Hoelscher joined the team after coaching boys varsity at Osakis. With daughters in the program, however, he was not unfamiliar with Alexandria. As a longtime coach with the [program_tooltip program_id='767539' first='Minnesota' last='Comets'], it's not his first stint coaching girls, either. “Both Wendy and Julie have been extremely helpful getting me acclimated to the program and providing assistance,” said Hoelscher. “It's been a fun ride so far.”    This past week the Cardinals gained a greater understanding of where they fit in the 4A picture. After falling at Maple Grove on Thursday to the high-flying Crimson (9-1), Alex lost by 27 to the 10-0 Minnetonka Skippers. The two losses served as a good measuring stick and will help the girls in the long run. The team bounced back on Saturday with a 30-point win over New Ulm. They'll face another big test on Saturday against 8-2 Orono.

It's not easy replacing a legend. That was the task facing Matt Hoelscher entering the 2025-26 high school basketball season. The new coach at Alexandria is doing his best to fill the shoes of the great Wendy Kohler, one of the most successful coaches in the history of Minnesota girls basketball, who retired at the conclusion of last season. So far so good. The Cardinals won their first eight games to kick off the new era.