Big Rivers Conference Conference preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2025-26 Standings:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>1. Hudson 12-2 (18-6) 1. Rice Lake 12-2 (25-4) 3. Eau Claire Memorial 11-3 (18-7) 4. River Falls 7-7 (13-12) 4. Menomonie 7-7 (14-11) 6. Chippewa Falls 4-10 (8-18) 7. Eau Claire North 3-11 (8-18) 8. New Richmond 0-14 (4-22)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>1. <strong>Hudson</strong>---The Raiders, co-champions in 2026, will win it outright this season with the firepower they return. Returning from a season, that ended with a 61-41 loss to Notre Dame, in the Regional final, are 1st Team All-conference, seniors Olivia LeBlanc (6-0, 12.5 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 3.3 apg, 1.7 spg), [player_tooltip player_id='814306' first='Devin' last='Larson'] (5-6, 11.5 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 3.0 apg, 1.5 spg) and 2nd Team All-Conference, junior [player_tooltip player_id='992505' first='Libby' last='Bartz'] (5-11, 11.1 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2.0 apg, 1.2 spg).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2. <strong>Eau Claire Memorial</strong>---The Old Abes, just like Hudson, return a very deep team that won 18 games last season and will be in the mix for the crown. Last season ended with a 58-51 loss to DePere in the Regional final. Having only graduated 4 players and about 22 points, Memorial returns probably the best shooting team, in the conference, led by UW-GB commit, junior [player_tooltip player_id='1173395' first='Norah' last='Kling'] (5-10, 15.9 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 1.6 apg, 2.3 spg), 2nd Team All-Conference, sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1221076' first='Ava' last='McCarthy'] (5-8, 9.6 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.1 apg, 1.9 spg, 40% from 3) and Honorable Mention selections, junior [player_tooltip player_id='810813' first='Ava' last='Hoitomt'] (5-7, 10.9 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 1.3 apg, 0.8 spg, 49.3% from 3) and [player_tooltip player_id='872479' first='Evelyn' last='Bast'] (5-7, 10.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 0.8 apg, 1.1 spg, 43.8% from 3).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>3. <strong>Rice Lake</strong>---The Warriors, co-champs in '26, only lost one player, from last season, but that loss was a big one in University of Wisconsin commit Adeline Sheplee and her 27.9 points per game. The Warriors will stay in the hunt and only go as far as multi-sport star, 6-2 senior [player_tooltip player_id='914910' first='Addison' last='Schmidt'] carries them. Coming off of a 17.7 ppg, 14.9 rpg, 1.2 apg, 0.9 spg, 3.5 bpg season, Schmidt will be tasked with leading an experience group alongside fellow senior [player_tooltip player_id='1415962' first='Abby' last='Doebereiner'] (8.0 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.3 apg, 0.8 spg) and sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='884745' first='Brielle' last='Balts'] (6.1 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 2.8 apg, 2.1 spg).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>4. <strong>River Falls</strong>---Another BRC team hit hard, by graduation, the Wildcats saw their season end with a 43-35 loss to Onalaska in the Regional semifinal. Last season saw 7 sophomores see action and that experienced group of juniors is led by [player_tooltip player_id='978272' first='Eva' last='Englebert'] (13.5 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.7 apg, 1.2 spg) and Rylan Sticht (8.2 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.7 spg).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>5. <strong>Menomonie</strong>---I have the Mustangs finishing in 5th, the same spot they were last season, however they could leapfrog River Falls for 4th and compete for 3rd this season. Last season, which saw Menomonie go 7-7 in conference, ended with a 70-59 loss to Medford in the Regional semifinal. Returning players include 1st Team All-Conference, 5-9 senior [player_tooltip player_id='1275661' first='Jordan' last='Ohman'] (19.6 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 4.3 apg, 3.2 spg), 5-5 sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1241270' first='Lauren' last='Ohman'] (11.0 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.7 apg, 2.2 spg) and 5-7 senior [player_tooltip player_id='1241165' first='Emmi' last='Marlett'] (8.8 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.1 apg, 1.0 spg).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>6. <strong>Chippewa Falls</strong>---The Cardinals 2026 season ended with a 62-23 loss to SPASH in the Regional semifinal. Graduated four, including their leading scorer, points will be hard to come by for a group led by 5-11 junior MaKenna Wood (8.1 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 0.7 apg, 1.0 spg, 0.8 bpg) and 5-7 junior [player_tooltip player_id='1241465' first='Tenley' last='Anderson'] (8.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.5 apg, 2.0 spg).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>7. <strong>New Richmond</strong>---New Richmond, winless in the conference last season, makes the jump, out of the basement and into 7th this season. Honestly I could see them as high as 6th with a strong core of returning juniors led by 5-8 Kendra Christensen (9.0 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 1.4 apg, 2.1 spg, 1.3 bpg), 5-5 [player_tooltip player_id='1291874' first='Payton' last='Dols'] (7.8 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 1.1 apg, 1.0 spg), and 5-6 Madison Komro (7.7 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.7 apg, 2.7 spg).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>8. <strong>Eau Claire North</strong>---The Huskies, winners of just three conference games, were hit harder by graduations as anyone in the conference. Last season, which ended with a 79-27 loss to Notre Dame in the Regional semifinal, saw they graduation of 7 players accounting for 28 points of production. Top returning players include 5-8 sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1241162' first='Livia' last='Neumueller'] (11.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 2.1 apg, 1.4 spg) and 5-5 senior Lily Brott (4.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 0.6 apg, 0.8 spg).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->