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The
Official Newspaper of Anamosa, located in Jones County, Iowa
Anamosa News
Since 1855
 Thursday,
March 16, 2006 |
Giving all they’ve got
By
Daryl Schepanski - Sports Editor |
ANAMOSA — The 2005-2006 Anamosa girls basketball season was one coach Jack Leighty knew was going to be a rebuilding year, as a group of players who had very little in the way of varsity game experience, took to the floor coming off a school record 22-3 ledger a year ago.
But in each and every one of the Raiders’ 22 contests this past winter, Leighty knew exactly what he was going to get out of his team. Effort. Hustle. Heart. Desire and determination.
“And early on in the season, along with all that, we picked some some pretty nice wins too,” said Leighty after his Anamosa girls stormed to a 3-3 mark in Tri-Rivers Conference action before the Christmas break. “The way we were playing early on we seemed to be gaining confidence after each game. We started to believe we could win and with the way we played at East Buchanan, right before the break, I thought we were a team that was playing their best basketball and it would only get better.”
While the drive to win was always there, the victories came to a halt after the break as Anamosa closed the season dropping their final 12 games, including a tough 75-15 setback in a class 3A regional quarter-final contest at Cedar Rapids Xavier.
“We had some close losses in that stretch that I think really took its toll on our confidence,” said Leighty as the Raiders were handed narrow defeats by Maquoketa Valley (51-46), North Linn (48-40), Center Point-Urbana (48-43), Cascade (48-36) and Starmont (43-40). “I think the one that hurt the most was the final game against Starmont. Going into the tournament against a team like Xavier, we needed a dose of confidence but that loss hosting Starmont was tough to overcome for us.”
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Back in action
Back playing basketball after a two-year hiatus, Anamosa senior Megan Carpenter gave the Raiders added depth off the bench this winter. (Journal-Eureka photo by Daryl Schepanski) |
Anamosa will also have to overcome the loss of three talented seniors in Kelsi Dearborn, Sara Schultejans and Megan Carpenter, who all played pivotal roles for the Raiders this past winter.
Schultejans handled the basketball, breaking presses and put her teammates in position to score, dishing out 32 assists. She also led the team with 43 steals.
“Sara was our spark plug all season long,” said Leighty. “She seemed to have endless energy and we needed that from her.”
Dearborn, though undersized, played the post and battled all season long against players much taller than herself, but never backed down from the challenge.
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Hands on player
Anamosa senior Sara Schultejans led the Raiders in steals this past winter swiping 43 for a 3-19 team that battled hard all season long during the 2005-2006 season. (Journal-Eureka photo by Daryl Schepanski) |
“Kelsi did everything we asked of her and more,” said Leighty. “She was a guard playing center and never once complained. Like so many girls on this team, she battled and gave us everything she had.”
Carpenter, back out after a two-year hiatus, came off the bench and added much needed depth.
“She gave us some added athletic ability too,” said Leighty. “Every time she came into the game she gave us instant energy and also grabbed a big rebound, right away.”
Anamosa does return their top two scorers in freshman Paige Goetz and junior Traci Dirks and their top passer in junior Bryn Gerber.
“Paige came a long way very fast this year,” said Leighty. “Traci gave us leadership and experience being the only girl who played much last year. Bryn gave us consistent shooting and passing skills.”
The Raiders will also return sophomore Dakota Ahrendsen, who missed most of the winter with a knee injury.
“We missed Dakota a lot this year,” said Leighty. “Having her back will be big along with Chelsey Bildstein. Hopefully we’ll improve with all that experience back next year. Experience was something we didn’t have too much of this year.” |
 Future looks bright for Olin girls basketball
By
Daryl Schepanski - Sports Editor |
OLIN — There was a lot for Lion girls’ basketball coach Wayne Lasack to smile about taking a look back at the 2005-2006 campaign as a very young club continues to improve becoming more and more competitive in the rugged Big East Conference.
“We won five games this year and while that’s not a big total, it’s the best we’ve had here in Olin for quite a while and it’s just going to keep getting better,” said Lasack after guiding the Lions to a 5-17 mark this past winter with a line-up that sometimes saw three freshmen, a sophomore and a junior on the floor in crunch time. “We’re a very young team and hopefully, with hard work in the off-season, the best is still ahead for this team and this program.”
Olin will have to do without the services of seniors Liz Groth and Kayla Fagen next season. |
In your face defense
The future of the Olin girls basketball program looks very bright as young stars like freshman Danielle Frederick, here guarding the baseline in a win over Central City, lead the Lions. (Journal-Eureka photo by Daryl Schepanski) |
“The underclassmen on this team get a lot of attention and deservedly so,” said Lasack. “But without these two seniors, we wouldn’t have been able to accomplish what we did this year.”
Groth was instant energy on the floor all winter long while Fagen added depth in the post area.
Both were also leaders for Lasack, guiding a young and talented club.
“Liz does a lot of things that don’t show up on the scorebook,” said Lasack. “She wasn’t afraid to go inside and set screens for her teammates and get some rebounds against girls a lot taller than her. Nobody out-worked Liz. We’ll miss Kayla’s work ethic next year too. She was another who wasn’t shy about banging to get shots and rebounds around the basket. With those two gone next year, we’ll have to have some other girls step up and accept leadership roles within the team.”
Back for Lasack’s Lions are sophomore Kalli Hansen, freshman Kelli Bean, junior Brittney Tenley, freshman Danielle Frederick, freshman Christina Greene, junior Jackee Butteris and sophomore Lindsay Stigen.
“We’re on the right track with this group coming back next year,” said Lasack. “We’re one of the youngest teams in the conference and with a nice group of eighth graders coming in next season, we should be a team with a lot more in the way of bench help than we had this year.”
Hansen turned in a sensational sophomore season leading the team in scoring (13.6 points per game), rebounding (7.7), steals (1.86) and blocked shots (2.95).
Bean, before suffering a late season knee injury that also appears will cost the talented freshman her softball season this summer as well, scored 7.3 points a night and ran the point position.
Tenley topped the Lions with 21 3-pointers and averaged 6.8 points a game while Frederick ripped down 7.3 rebounds and scored 6.8 points every night. Greene added 4.6 points and 3.5 rebounds.
“Hopefully we can get our JV program up and running again too,” he said. “If we can get some more kids out, that would be very beneficial to our program and its future health.”
Just nine girls made up the entire Olin girls basketball roster this past winter, but Lasack hopes that number will go up as his program continues to climb up the standings.
“I was surprised how quickly our freshman adjusted to our system and to the varsity game this year,” said Lasack. “We have a great group of basketball-smart girls on this team and we’re going to take advantage of that knowledge.” |
Getting all the pieces to come together
By
Daryl Schepanski - Sports Editor |
WYOMING — At the start of his first season guiding the Midland girls basketball program, new head coach Josh Bentley knew he had all pieces in place to have a special season in 2005-2006.
Much like a puzzle, all Bentley had to do was get those pieces to come together. As a team, however.
Presto! It happened and the Eagles girls gave their fans a great ride on their way to a 12-10 overall record and solid 6-6 mark in Big East Conference action.
“We had a lot of very talented basketball players on this team this year, but we had to get them to play the game together as a team and not as individuals,” said Bentley. “I think as the season went along, we got better and better at becoming a team and not a group of girls who happened to be wearing the same uniform on the same basketball court.”
Midland got off to a hot start to the winter defeating Lisbon (58-31), East Central (54-38), Calamus-Wheatland (64-41) and Olin (53-46) but then things got a little tougher.
“Our wins and losses don’t tell everything about our team,” said Bentley. “I would have liked to see us handle those tight situations a little better but we will grow and learn from them.”
The Eagles dropped five of seven games during a mid-season stretch but after a tough loss at Camanche in early January, Bentley had seen enough. |
Stepping up
Midland junior Sammy Reid had a big 2005-2006 season for the Eagle girls basketball team leading the club in scoring, assists and steals. (Journal-Eureka photo by Daryl Schepanski) |
“I think the turning point of our season came right after that Camanche game,” said Bentley.
“We didn’t play well in that loss and I got after them pretty hard and challenged them. They responded well by going 8-4 after that game the rest of the way.”
Midland posted wins over Calamus-Wheatland (52-36), Central City (53-24), Olin (49-33), Bellevue (48-31), East Central (59-27), Bellevue-Marquette (44-32) and Lisbon (54-38) and cruised into a class 2A district quarter-final playoff contest at Maquoketa Valley playing some of their best basketball of the winter.
But that was just the appetizer.
“To go to a tough gym like that and play against a good team like Maquoketa Valley, I feel was a very big step in the right direction for this program,” said Bentley. “That was probably our highlight game of the year but we also played a great game against a Bellevue team at the end of January and they were a sub-state team.”
Eagle junior Sammy Reid played an unbelievable game in the Wildcat’s gym February 15, scoring 31 points to advance her club down the tournament trail.
Reid led Midland scoring 12.1 points per game and also topped the club with 2.32 assists and 3.59 steals every night out.
“Our future has great potential,” said Bentley. “If we not only want to move to the top of the conference, but the top of our class, we need to work hard in the off-season in the weight room and gym.”
The Eagles will have to do without the services of seniors Melissa Paulsen, Lacy Eganhouse, Ashley Coon, Katie Andresen and Krista Weets, who gave much to the program over the last four years working under three different coaches.
Paulsen led the Midland girls in 3-pointers draining 26 on the season and at a school-record 41-percent clip (26-of-64) while averaging 6.3 points per game.
“Melissa stepped up huge for us giving us the outside shot that we needed,” said Bentley. “That took some of the pressure off of Sammy and Mary (Burmeister).”
Eganhouse was also strong on the glass tallying 2.8 boards and 2.7 points a game.
“Lacy did everything we asked of her as hard as she could,” said Bentley. “You could see that in her play. She wasn’t a superstar, but she knew her job and did it well.”
Coon tallied 3.0 rebounds and scored 2.5 points.
“We’ll miss Ashley’s willingness to do the little things both on offense and defense,” said Bentley. “She also gave us a threat to score.”
Weets and Andresen added depth to an already impressive Midland bench all winter long.
“I have nothing but respect for those two,” he said. “They played their roles perfectly and never once complained. I was very proud of them. They may not have played a lot, but they will clearly be missed next year.” |
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