Pre-season Conference Predictions: WaMaC East
WaMaC East is looking a bit different this year with the exiting of a couple teams from the WaMaC conference. Anamosa is now in River Valley Conference and Western Dubuque left for the MVC. 2018 4A State Champion Marion has…
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Continue ReadingWaMaC East is looking a bit different this year with the exiting of a couple teams from the WaMaC conference. Anamosa is now in River Valley Conference and Western Dubuque left for the MVC. 2018 4A State Champion Marion has moved from West to East for the new alignment. So this division lost its top two contenders from a year ago, but has gained the top team in the conference overall. We will soon see how the new division of the WaMaC will be affected by presence of Marion!
Beckman (2017 – 2018 record 12 – 10)
Beckman from a year ago had a balanced scoring attack, with no players in double digits. They will however be returning close to 60% of that scoring from a year ago. That is good news for a team that went just over .500 last year. Improvements from those returners could create a more positive outlook in the win column.
Be looking for a trio of seniors to lead the attack this year. Seniors Sydney Arens, Sydney Steffen, and Tara Hansel led the Trailblazers a year ago in scoring and rebounding. Steffen contributed 7.9 ppg and 4.2 rpg, Arens 7.5 ppg and 3.8 rpg, and Hansel 6.8 ppg and 7.2 rpg. Defensively this trio also were the main fuel with 146 of the 246 steals Beckman had a year ago.
Beckman graduated key contributors McKenzie Arens, Brooke Lucas and Hannah Lueck. As a team they will need to replace their leadership and contributions in the stat columns. Be looking for more minutes from seniors Jessica Lueken, Heather Boeckenstedt and Kylie Willenbring to fill those spots lost to graduation.
Central DeWitt (2017 – 2018 record 7 – 14)
With the graduation of all 5 seniors, DeWitt will be put in a rebuilding situation. The talent at the younger levels is strong so the future for the Sabers is looking bright. Graduation of seniors Maggie Murphy, Sydney Small, Alex Mohr, Laiken Wisco, and Julia Campbell was not only all the starters but was also 76% of their offense. So how does the outlook for DeWitt look….young but lots of promise!
Two key contributors this year will not be returners but will have the label of freshman. It’s rare that a coach can state that their freshman are going to enhance the team’s experience, but these two will. At a school with many multi sport athletes, Taylor Veach and Allie Meadows have concentrated on basketball. Playing at high level AAU tournaments for many years has given this duo experience the team needs. They will be the back court for a young team that will play against some of the top players in the state. It will be a great learning experience for this dynamic duo to gain more experience to lead the Sabers to winning seasons in the future. Five of the top eight players on this team will be a freshman or sophomore.
This young team will look for an up tempo defense to use their athleticism to create easy offense. Other key contributors to this young team will be seniors Lauren Wisco and Emily Swanson. From those that are returning, they contributed the most in scoring from a year ago. Junior Lauren Cooper should also be getting more minutes this season. Sophomore Talbot Kinney saw time on the court late last season, and that added experience will help the Sabers this year. So prognosis of the 2019 campaign for DeWitt is easy. Learn from your mistakes and always remember that this experience is going to benefit the group down the road!
Maquoketa (2017 – 2018 record 11 – 12)
Maquoketa finished just under .500 from a year ago, but will return 7 of top 10 performers from a year ago. Addition of first year coach James Doepke gave team first double digits wins in a long time. That improvement in team dynamics along with return of so much experience should be what Maquoketa needs to push them over the hump into a strong winning season.
Maquoketa will need to replace the graduation of seniors Hannah Ambrosy, Brooklyn Waller, and Kailey Harmon. This trio combined for 22.4 ppg, and 10.2 rpg, on the year. Coach Doepke feels that the experience of underclassman from a year ago will fill these voids. Some will be moving into starting roles, and some of the returners will be seeing extended time. Top returner will be junior Autumn Dykstra who led the Cardinals in scoring last year with 11.1 ppg. Junior Nell Sybesma led team in rebounding with 6.7 rpg. She was also second on team in assists and steals with 2.21 apg and 1.87 spg
Other key experienced returners for the Cardinals will be seniors Brie Bennis, Sydney Taylor, and Carly Paul. Bennis averaged 8.0 ppg and Taylor and Paul will be seeing more extended roles this year. From the junior class, in addition to Dykstra and Sybesma, Maquoketa will also see return of Abbi Strathman and Cari Pickup. Now in their second year with Coach Doepke, this group will be more familiar with his system. These returners will have depth, athleticism and length to help push forward on the improvements the team made a year ago.
The Cardinals worked hard in the off season participating in a few events together this past Summer. They held an on site 3 day camp with an outside group that helped work on skills. They also participated in two tournaments as a team. Both tournaments they took 2nd place, losing in the championship to AAU teams. Building on the success of last year’s team, staying healthy and improvements on the defensive end should lead to a successful season this year.
Marion (2017 – 2018 record 26 – 0)
Marion couldn’t of had a more perfect season a year ago going undefeated and claiming the 4A State title. They have graduated key seniors in Chloe Rice, Mia Laube, Caitlyn Smith and Elle Herold. Coach Laube says that the leadership from those seniors will be key to replace for the Indians to have a good year. Chloe Rice will be playing at St Louis University this upcoming Winter, and contributed the most statistically of the seniors. Rice was team leader in rebounding, assists, and steals and was second on team in scoring. The returning core from a year ago will have to fill the loss of those stats.
Marion did play a lot of underclassman a year ago, so they will be able to re-load instead of re-build. UNI commit junior Kayba Laube will be the key returner. She led the team in scoring from a year ago, and has a killer outside shot. This off season she played on the Attack EYBL team that won the EYBL Championship. That experience along with the quality minutes from a year ago will be helpful to fill the leadership role that the Indians lost in graduation.
Marion also returns their third scorer in sophomore Riley Wright. We expect to see the combination of Wright and Laube to be the major one, two punch for this team. Wright has strong ability to get to the lane and is a great finisher. That ability will setup more shots for Laube on the outside. Other key returners this year will be seniors Randi Wright, Leah Van Weelden, and Sophie Willette, as well as sophomore Ella Van Weelden.
Marion did a lot of off season work this past Summer to get them ready for the season. In June and July they met three times a week for skill and shooting workouts. They also had arranged some scrimmages with other schools during the Summer. Nine of the returners were also playing AAU with programs like All Iowa Attack, Barnstormers, and Team Pressure. With all that experience and work, we expect that the Indians will be the team to beat in the WaMaC conference again this year.
Mt Vernon (2017 – 2018 record 16 – 7)
Season is looking bright for Mt Vernon this season. Having a winning season of 16-7 last year is even better when you are able to carry a lot of that experience into the next season. The Mustangs will lose a key contributor with graduation of Kristen Elliot, but will return the majority of their offense. Seniors Sammy Moss, Ella Brase and Annie Rhomberg along with junior Summer Brand will lead the way for Mt Vernon.
Elliot may be the only senior that had major contributions for the Mustangs, but she was key in every aspect of the game. She not only led the team in scoring, but also in rebound, assists and steals. In addition to those three seniors and junior that were major contributors a year ago, Mt Vernon will be looking for more players to step up to replace Elliot. Some of these who we may see more on the floor this season is Lauren Hauser or Mackenzie Ketchum. Both saw some limited playing time last year, that could turn into more of a contribution this season.
Solon (2017 – 2018 record 6 – 16)
Solon is coming off a rebuilding year. They only graduated one key player from a year ago, Brianna Smith who will be playing at Central College this Winter. Smith averaged 9.9 ppg, 4.2 rpg, and 2.4 apg for the Spartans. So many of the young players were able to gain valuable experience that Solon is hoping will gain them momentum this season. They will be returning 74% of their scoring from a year ago.
The Spartans will be rich in senior leadership this year. Returning Gabby Marty, Taylor Ryan, Erin Kerkhoff, Saige Haurer, and Abby Smith. This group of seniors combined for 57% of the scoring from a year ago. So with more experience and their final season looming over their head, look for their point production to increase. Marty and Smith also were the top two rebounders for the Spartans last year, leaving the glass a secure place this season. The other piece of the returning scorers is Junior Jenna LaDage. LaDage was 3rd in scoring for Solon last year. Look for added contribution from sophomore Sara Ruzika who saw limited playing time last year. If Solon can put their experience together, look for the Spartans to make a bigger impact this season.
West Delaware (2017 – 2018 record 5 – 17)
West Delaware graduated the bulk of their scoring from a year ago. Class 2018 players like Kendra Offerman, Lauren Collier, Brooke O’Connell, and Abby McGrane attributed for a large portion of the Hawks scoring last year. The top returner will be junior Macey Kleitsch who was only other significant scorer for West Delaware a year ago. Kleitsch also contributed in other areas on the floor by leading the team in steals and was 3rd in rebounding. Kleitsch will have to really step up this season and take over the leadership of the team.
West Delaware will need younger players to step up and help fill the loss of graduation. One of these players will be junior Allison Collier. Although she had limited scoring for the team, she did gain experience by playing in all 22 games. They will also have sophomores Mia Peyton and Eva Winn who saw action last year. The core of the returners are young, so if they can continue to grow the future will be looking brighter for the Hawks.