Bay Conference Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2025-26 Standings:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>1. Xavier 13-1 (22-6) 2. Fox Valley Lutheran 11-3 (21-4) 2. Winneconne 11-3 (21-7) 4. Shawano 7-7 (18-10) 5. Seymour 6-8 (13-12) 6. Menasha 4-10 (9-16) 6. New London 4-10 (14-12) 7. 8. Green Bay East 0-14 (1-23)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>1. <strong>Winneconne</strong>---The Wolves finished in a 2nd place tie, last season, winning 21 games overall earning a trip to the Sectional finals where they would meet up with the defending champion Oostburg Lady Dutch. Winneconne's season ended as the dropped the game 62-43 to the eventual state champions. The Wolves come back fully loaded, returning their top 4 scorers, all possessing good size, and have my pick as conference champions this season. Returning are a pair of senior, 1st team All-Conference selections in 5-11 [player_tooltip player_id='751291' first='Grace' last='Mitchell'] (17.0 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 4.0 apg, 3.6 spg, 43.1% from 3) and 6-1 [player_tooltip player_id='1162234' first='Harper' last='Neace'] (14.1 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 1.6 apg, 2.0 spg, 42.9 % from 3). They are joined by fellow senior, 5-8 [player_tooltip player_id='1225951' first='Brooklyn' last='Messerschmidt'] (7.8 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 3.6 apg, 2.4 spg) and 2nd team All-Conference, 5-10 junior [player_tooltip player_id='1223776' first='Ari' last='Reetz'] (7.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.5 apg, 2.1 spg).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2. <strong>Fox Valley Lutheran</strong>---The Foxes, newcomers to the Bay Conference, had no problem finishing with 11 conference wins and a tie for 2nd place eventually losing 55-47 to West De Pere in the Regional Final. FVL is led by Sophomore sensation, [player_tooltip player_id='1264437' first='Kinley' last='Peterson'] who burst on the scene to lead the Foxes in scoring at 15.6 ppg while adding 4.1 rpg, 2.3 apg, 2.6 spg, and almost a block per game. She has had a terrific summer season and looks to have gotten even better. Around her is a solid nucleus including 5-10 junior Brianna Dahlke (9.2 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 1.1 apg, 1.7 spg, 1.2 bpg) and 5-4 sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1166542' first='Olivia' last='Johnson'] (6.6 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 3.4 apg, 1.8 spg). They will be counted on to lead a younger group looking to offset the loss of two of their top four scorers to graduation.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>3. <strong>Xavier</strong>---You would be hard pressed to find another team that was hit as hard by injuries than the Hawks were. That makes what they accomplished even that more impressive as they rolled to a 13-1 record and a Bay Conference crown. Xavier was hit hard, by graduation, as they look to replace three of their top five scorers and seven overall from a season that ended in a Sectional Final loss to Beaver Dam 67-53. Senior, 1st Team All-Conference selection, Hailey Hafner (14.0 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 2.2 apg, 2.3 spg), senior Ellie Krull (5.3 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 1.0 apg, 1.0 spg/Only played in 5 games) and junior [player_tooltip player_id='1232585' first='Kayla' last='Standish'] (7.7 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 1.9 apg, 1.6 spg) will be asked to lead a relatively inexperience group. It is hard to count this program out and they could very well be back on top in March if they gel early.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>4. <strong>Menasha</strong>---Although they are one of the younger teams, there is a lot of optimism around the Blue Jays this season. Last season ended with a 57-41 loss to West De Pere, in the Regional Semifinal, but they only graduated 2 and return 5 of their top 6 scorers. Leading the way is senior, 1st Team All-Conference [player_tooltip player_id='891648' first='Aria' last='Bilke'] (16.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 2.2 apg, and 1.6 spg). She is joined by junior McKenna Wegener (4.8 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 1.7 apg, 1.4 spg) and a trio of experienced sophomores in Shelby Kolaskinski (4.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 1.1 apg), [player_tooltip player_id='1244752' first='Lamia' last='Hill'] (3.1 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 1.0 spg, 1.2 spg) and [player_tooltip player_id='900154' first='Sophia' last='Kelly'] (2.4 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 0.4 apg, 0.4 spg).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>5. <strong>Seymour</strong>---Seymour had almost an identical record, from two seasons ago, as they did in finishing 5th last season and are this season's "wildcard" team in my opinion. Last year ended with a 46-41 loss to Brillion in the Regional final. Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1229383' first='Natalie' last='Rudnick'] is rapidly developing into a game changer, on both ends of the court, and she looks much improved from a solid freshman season where she averaged 13.2 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 0.8 apg, and 1.6 spg) while finishing with 2nd Team All-Conference accolades. Junior Kenlee Jensen (9.9 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 1.8 apg, 1.4 spg) will be asked to shoulder more of the offensive load as teams load up to stop Rudnick and they will need contributions from everyone on the roster if they are to break out of the pack this winter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>6. <strong>Shawano</strong>---The Hawks were my pick to win the conference, but they slipped to 4th, last season, which ended at the hands of Rice Lake, 59-45 in the Sectional Final. To make matters worse, they graduated 3 of their top 5 scorers including current UW-Badger Leah Nordin and her 26 ppg. Where challenges exist is also where opportunities are found and looking to help fill the offensive void with be 5-7 senior Jadyn Brown (8.8 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 1.2 apg, 1.3 spg) and 5-11 junior Creden Weisnicht (4.3 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 1.1 apg, 1.2 spg). They will be asked to provide leadership to a relatively young squad.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>7. <strong>New London</strong>---The Bulldogs, winners of 14 games (overall) last season, were a difficult team to try and forecast for this season. On one hand, they graduated 5 players accounting for about 23 points of production. On the other hand, they do return a good blend of skill and size in 6-0 senior, 2nd Team All-Conference, [player_tooltip player_id='879081' first='Morgan' last='Jones'] (10.2 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.4 apg, 2.1 spg), 5-11 junior [player_tooltip player_id='900204' first='Sarah' last='Daly'] (8.4 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1.5 spg), and 5-9 senior [player_tooltip player_id='751254' first='Chesney' last='Magolski'] (6.9 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 2.2 apg, 2.8 spg). If all three players step up, as expected, I could see New London in the top half of the conference by March.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>8. <strong>Green Bay East</strong>---Another tough season as the Red Devils went winless in conference, once again, and ended the season with a 52-13 loss to Ashwaubenon. Making matters worse, last season, was losing top scorer Jada Nelson due to a WIAA suspension just 13 games into the season. The 5-7 senior averaged 5.8 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 0.8 apg, and 1.2 spg and her return brings optimism as she will be tasked with helping lead a group of 13 players with varsity experience. Other top returning players are 5-8 junior Maya Rodriguez (3.4 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 0.5 apg, 0.3 spg) and 5-6 senior Lakeria Gonnigan (3.4 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 0.9 apg, 1.1 spg).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->