Hoops dec 2015

2015-16 PREVIEW 2014-15

Bessemer Hurley Ironwood Wakefield-Marenisco Ontonagon Ewen-Trout Creek Mercer Watersmeet

DAILY GLOBE

2

HOOPS

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2015

THE DAILY GLOBE • YOURDAILYGLOBE.COM

Devils rebuilding after back-to-back district titles

By PAT KRAUSE

sports@yourdailyglobe.com

IRONWOOD — If you were looking for a word to describe the Ironwood boys basketball team the past few years, it would be consistent.

As in consistently excellent.

In the last five years, the Red Devils have compiled a record of 91 wins and 24 losses. They have a three-peat going on Indianhead Conference East Division championships and are back-to-back district tournament champions.

They also produced the alltime leading scorer in school history in Adam Mackey with 1,654 points in his four-year varsity career.

Other than that, Ironwood hasn’t done much.

Red Devil coach Pete Lewinski has been coaching varsity basketball in Ironwood for 23-years and three years in El Paso, Texas and he knows this year will be a real challenge to keep the basketball program at such a high standard.

One big positive for Ironwood in the last five years has been very good experienced seniors.

The biggest question mark for the cardinal and white in the 2015-16 season will be its seniors.

“Although we have six returning seniors, they have very little varsity playing experience,” Lewinski said. “This team is a mystery because of so little game experience.

“Another area of concern is lack of overall height. We went from being one of the tallest teams around to one of the shortest as only two players are 6-0.

Ten players are under 6-0.”

Lewinski said this year’s team will have its strengths to counter some of his concerns.

“We have a strong work ethic and the players have been working hard” he said. “Also, the seniors have taken over the leadership role on this team. We will work hard every day and get smarter as far as having a “basketball imagination,” meaning

I R O N WO O D RED DEVILS BOYS

SCHEDULE

Dec. 7, at Solon Springs, 7:15 Dec. 10, SOUTH SHORE, 7:15 Dec. 14, at Washburn, 7:15 Dec. 17, BUTTERNUT, 7:15 Dec. 21, at Drummond, 7:15 Jan. 7, at Bayfield, 7:15 Jan. 8, at Wakefield-Marenisco, 6:30 Jan. 11, at Mellen, 7:15 Jan. 12, BESSEMER, 7:15 Jan. 14, MERCER, 7:15 Jan. 19, SOLON SPRINGS, 7:15 Jan. 22, at South Shore, 7:15 Jan. 26, WASHBURN, 7:15 Jan. 29, at Butternut, 7:15 Feb. 2, DRUMMOND, 7:15 Feb. 5, HURLEY, 7:15 Feb. 9, BAYFIELD, 7:15 Feb. 18, at Mercer, 7:15 Feb. 23, at Bessemer, 7:15 Feb. 26, WAKEFIELD-MARENISCO, 7:15

GIRLS

Jason Juno/Daily Globe

THE 2015-16 Ironwood Red Devils are from left, first row: managers Eleanor Tiziani, Hayley Jarocki, Daniel Adrian and Ian Hughes; second row: volunteer assistant coach Matt Dary, Zach Combs, Desmond Sackmann, Ian Averitt, Tory Brady, assistant coach Ben Schmandt and head coach Pete Lewinski; third row: Nathan Dray, Jordan Giannunzio, Paul Justinak, Luke Hewitt, Ryan Sobolewski, Jared Vanhoose, Shane Buckley and Eric Rantanen. making good decisions in game situations. We have to be in top physical condition because of the increased time of games in Wisconsin (2 halves of 18 minutes each). As a coaching staff, we have to get our substitution patterns down so we are not fatigued at the end of games.”

Lewinski said Ironwood’s team goals would be to get better each day, play within its strengths and outwork its opponents.

Here is a look at Ironwood’s 12-player roster: Seniors: Lewinski said Luke Hewitt and Zach Combs have looked good in pre-season and both will have to step up with big

years for Ironwood to be successful. Both are quick, hard-working and have good basketball sense.

They should also be real good defensive players.

Jordan Giannuzio is a hard worker, has a good attitude and blocks out well on the boards.

Desmond Sackmann is a smart ball-player and a good perimeter shooter when he gets in his rhythm.

Lewinski said Shane Buckley is the team’s defensive specialist and is very athletic with a real good work ethic. Ryan Sobolewski is a very intelligent player who contributes in all phases of the game.

Juniors: Lewinski said Nathan Dray has looked good in

practice and will play out on the perimeter and then go inside with the big men. Tory Brady will play inside to help out the front line.

Paul Justinak has potential and is always working on his game. Eric Rantanen and firstyear player Jared Vanhoose round out the junior players and will be looking for playing minutes as they gain more experience playing basketball.

Sophomores: Lewinski said Ian Averitt, at 6-0, is Ironwood’s tallest player and will make a bid for a starting position.

Lewinski said starting positions are still being determined.

The six seniors have been given

the first crack at starting and earning playing time. Underclassmen who have made a case for a starting position are junior Nathan Dray and sophomore Ian Averitt.

Lewinski feels Washburn and Hurley should contend for the Indianhead Conference title with Solon Springs, Drummond and Mellen being improved and having a shot at the title also.

Lewinski will have Ben Schmandt as his junior varsity/assistant varsity coach and Matt Dary as his volunteer assistant.

The Red Devils will open the season by traveling to Solon Springs on Dec. 7.

SCHEDULE

(0-1)

Dec. 1, at Solon Springs (loss, 60-57) Dec. 4, SOUTH SHORE, 7:15 Dec. 8, at Washburn, 7:15 Dec. 11, BUTTERNUT, 7:15 Dec. 18, at Drummond, 7:15 Dec. 22, HURLEY, 7:15 Jan. 5, at Bayfield, 7:15 Jan. 8, at Mellen, 7:15 Jan. 14, MERCER, 5:45 Jan. 15, SOLON SPRINGS, 7:15 Jan. 18, at South Shore, 7:15 Jan. 21, WASHBURN, 7:15 Jan. 25, at Butternut, 7:15 Jan. 28, DRUMMOND, 7:15 Feb. 1, at Hurley (NC), 7:15 Feb. 4, BAYFIELD, 7:15 Feb. 8, BESSEMER, 7:15 Feb. 16, at Wakefield-Marenisco, 6:30 Feb. 18, at Mercer, 5:45 Feb. 25, at Ontonagon, 6:20

RETURNING ALL-CONFERENCE PLAYERS

Boys: None Girls: Emily DiGiorgio

ALL-CONFERENCE

GRADUATES

Boys: Jake DiGiorgio, Denver Sharrow, Jared Sobolewski Girls: None

STORYLINE

Boys: For the second year in a row, the Red Devils won the district tournament in March and for the second year in a row, they graduated a very good senior class.

Girls: Ironwood has a new coach for the second year in a row in Kari Jacquart and will be led by All-U.P. Second Teamer Emily DiGiorgio.

Jacquart leads Ironwood girls into new season

By JASON JUNO

sports@yourdailyglobe.com

IRONWOOD — With the Indianhead Conference East Division Player of the Year returning and a deep group of guards, Ironwood looks to elevate to a conference contender this season.

Ironwood has high expectations for senior Emily DiGiorgio (5-10), who was also an All-U.P. Second Team selection last season. The Devils have some depth with 11 players.

There are no divisions this year, just one conference. The Red Devils were still in the WestPAC the last time Kari Jacquart coached Ironwood, so she isn’t as knowledgeable about the Indianhead yet.

“They were fairly competitive in the conference last year and I think with DiGiorgio, who was conference player of the year, in the middle, I think we’re going to be competitive,” Jacquart said. “I watched all the tapes from last year, but I don’t know enough who’s returning and who’s not.

Of course our goal is to be competitive and win the conference.

We’d love to win the conference, but we’re going to take it one game at a time. We want to get better each game. That’s our goal for practice. This team works incredibly hard and they work together. Everybody gets along great.”

Jacquart wishes Ironwood’s depth was more evenly spread.

“We’re a little guard heavy,” Jacquart said. “I’m going to use that to our advantage and try to run as much as we can. We have some girls who don’t seem to get

Jason Juno/Daily Globe

THE 2015-16 Ironwood Red Devils are, from left, first row: Kathleen Mieloszyk, Makenzie Marshall, Kacie Lundin, Vanessa Nasi and Lauren Gathier; second row: coach Kari Jacquart, Rachel Hudacek, Kaylee Saari, Emily DiGiorgio, Erin Halvorsen, Alyssa Huotari and Taylor Mylly. tired, which as a coach, you love.

We’re going to try to push the pace as much as we can. We have a good core of ballhandlers. We just need to work on protecting the ball and executing our offense. We have a lot of depth at guard, I just wish we had more depth in the interior.”

Ironwood looks to start three guards early on: Junior Kacie Lundin, senior Alyssa Huotari and sophomore Makenzie Marshall with Taylor Mylly moving from guard to forward and DiGiorgio in the middle.

DiGiorgio will lead the Devils

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offensively. Besides being strong inside, she also has good skills on the perimeter.

“She’s left-handed, which makes her even harder to guard,” Jacquart said. “She’s got a great hook shot, she’s got good up-andunder moves, she’s going to be tough to guard, so we’re looking for big numbers out of her. We’re just trying to get her to be more aggressive and if she has somebody sealed, yell for the ball.

She’s great on the boards, she’s definitely going to be our offensive leader. I’m going to expect a lot of double doubles out of her

for sure.”

Lundin (5-4) will be Ironwood’s point guard and she fits the role as a leader on the floor.

She’s also aggressive and doesn’t mind going inside.

“She’s the heart and soul of our team,” Jacquart said. “She’s the little floor general. She’s definitely going to be an extension of me on the court. She gets everybody organized and set up and she plays with a lot of heart. She puts everything out there; I love that about her. A lot of times she’ll say what I’m thinking before I say it. She’s really good,

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especially with the younger kids, when we practice with the JV, directing them and helping them.”

Huotari (5-4) didn’t play last year due to a knee injury.

“She’s one of the smarter guards that I have,” Jacquart said. “She moves well without the ball. She’s a good ballhandler. She’s good at organizing the team and getting them set up.”

Marshall (5-3) is an aggressive player as a sophomore.

“She’s the littlest player on the team, but she’s the least scared of going inside and mixing

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it up,” Jacquart said. “She likes to attack, which I really like. She always looks to run.”

Mylly (5-5) will be a forward and a guard this season.

“She is probably one of the most, if not the most, athletic players I have,” Jacquart said.

“She plays taller than she is. She doesn’t seem to ever get tired, so she likes to push the ball a lot, which I like. She’s likes to post up and step out and hit the 3.”

Ironwood has two other seniors besides DiGiorgio and Huotari, Rachel Hudacek (5-4) and Erin Halvorsen (5-5). “(Hudacek’s) a quiet girl who is a really smart player,” Jacquart said. “She plays bigger than she is. She can do down low and mix it up, which I like, and step out and take the 3.

“For a post player, (Halvorsen) has a really nice outside shot. I look for her to help out on the boards and be a screener down low.”

Vanessa Nasi (5-6), Kathleen Mieloszyk (5-3) and Kaylee Saari (5-7) are juniors. “(Nasi) is by far the best defender I have. I wish everybody would play defense with the intensity and as tough as her,” Jacquart said.

Mieloszyk is also cheerleading this year.

“She’s incredibly fast,”

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HOOPS 3 Midgettes look for 11th straight title in Indianhead

THE DAILY GLOBE • YOURDAILYGLOBE.COM

By JASON JUNO

sports@yourdailyglobe.com

HURLEY — Hurley has several holes to fill from a solid group of seniors that graduated after last season.

“We lost a lot, but we have a lot coming back, too,” secondyear Hurley coach Steve Eder said. “The cupboard isn’t bare.

We have some talented kids that played minutes last year. Our JV program was fairly successful. We have a couple kids that are up from JV, I think they’re going to do some good things for us this year.”

The Midgettes look to have a similar team to what they’ve had in years past.

“I think we’ll have close to the typical Hurley-type team where we play good defense, try to get out and run a little bit when we can and play a full game of basketball,” Eder said.

The Midgettes are 0-2 with a 71-44 loss at Northland Pines and a 43-29 defeat at South Shore. Eder said Hurley’s goal is to be competitive this season.

“Our main goal is we want to have an opportunity to win every game we play,” he said. “I think we can get there. We want to play good defense, we want to not foul. We did one of those two things in our first game, we didn’t foul. Our main goal is to be a really good defensive team, run when we can and be patient when we can’t.”

The Midgettes shared the East Division championship in the Indianhead Conference last year. While the conference is no longer split into divisions this season, the Midgettes are still in the conversation for the conference title.

Eder looks at several teams to be competitive in the Indianhead

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2015

Conference. Bayfield has a lot of talent back, he said, and Butternut has an all-conference sophomore returning in Gabby McCorison. Ironwood has some good returning talent and Mercer, while losing key players, should still be good.

“I think until somebody beats South Shore, I think they’re definitely at the top of the list,” Eder said. “Obviously, they have a big loss with Megan (Gustafson) being gone (she plays for Division I Iowa).”

Hurley may be in that mix as well. It has won a title in the conference the past 10 years.

“I just hope we’re going to give everybody our best effort and end up in the left column more times in the end,” Eder said. “I definitely think we can compete for the conference."

Hurley has six seniors, two of whom have some starting experience from last season: Maria Swartz and Kaylyn King.

Swartz plays inside and outside and she scored a team-high 20 points in Hurley’s opening loss to Northland Pines in November.

“Good shooter from the outside, very good defensively, good rebounder, can drive to the basket, good passer, good all-around player,” Eder said.

King is one of the Midgettes’ top ballhandlers.

“She’s just a flat-out player,” Eder said. “She knows where everybody is supposed to be at all times and plays really good defense and does a really good job. She’s the type of person you want to have on the floor from a coaching standpoint. She really gets what we’re trying to do on any given night and does a good job of not only explaining, but showing how to do it, too.”

Jason Juno/Daily Globe

THE 2015-16 Hurley Midgettes are, from left, first row: Tori Colassaco, Kaylyn King, Tianne Kuula, Ally Olson, Tori Anderson and manager Addison Eder; second row: coach Steve Eder, Maria Swartz, Brooke Piilola, Reggie Kelly, Aiyana Nickel, Lindsay Saari and assistant coach Dan Rye. Other seniors saw some time last year.

Tori Colassaco is a good shooter and smart defensive player, Eder said.

Tianne Kuula is a good passer who sees the floor well.

“She’s not afraid to take too many chances, which is a good thing for us from time to time,” Eder said.

Reggie Kelly is a smart player.

“She understands what we’re trying to accomplish on both ends of the floor from a philosophical standpoint,” Eder said.

“She does a good job of talking to the younger girls, explaining why we do certain things.”

Ashley Clement is a hardworking defender, Eder said.

Sophomore Tori Anderson handles the ball well.

“She does a good job of seeing

the pass before she makes it, she really values the basketball,” Eder said.

Aiyana Nickel is Hurley’s other sophomore.

“Aiyana Nickel is a tremendous athlete,” Eder said. “She can run, jump, drive to the basket, rebound. She offensively rebounds well.”

Junior Brooke Piilola gives Hurley another presence in the post.

“Brooke is another extremely athletic girl,” Eder said. “She understands the game, is an excellent rebounder on both ends of the floor, is a good defensive player. Offensively, she can stretch the floor for us and not only score near the basket, she has a mid-range game as well.”

Junior Lindsay Saari is a hard-working post player.

Junior Ally Olson is a streak

shooter who also likes to drive to the basket.

Hurley didn’t set out team and individual goals this season.

They each set out commitments.

“We want to commit to continuing the tradition of Hurley basketball,” Eder said. “I think it’s been fairly successful the last decade or so. Rather than have goals, we did what’s called commitments for their conditioning, for their practices and a commitment for the games. The coaches also wrote those. I think it will lead to, rather than writing a goal that you want to be a starter or you want to score 10 points a game, you write a commitment and you’re there for the other 10 girls that are on the team.”

Jim Kivisto will be the JV coach, but Dan Rye has been filling in recently.

Midgets seek quicker start with tough early-season schedule

By JASON JUNO

sports@yourdailyglobe.com

HURLEY — Hurley is further along this year than it was last year in the early stages of the season.

The Midgets started 0-5 while battling injuries to key players.

It then recovered to finish 15-10 and make the regional final.

“We just had so many injuries,” Hurley coach Mike Swartz said. “Plus, it was my first year and everyone was just getting to know the system, how we do things. I’m happy this year, how quick the kids are picking things up. It just seems like we’re picking things up more quickly, getting through drills more quickly. I think we’ll start a lot faster than we did last year. I hope so anyway.

“I can’t say enough about how hard they’ve worked. We really put them through the gauntlet of drills and conditioning.”

Hurley figures to be a team that centers on inside play with senior James Sukanen, who passed 1,000 career points, last year, and an emphasis on defense.

The Midgets’ early-season schedule tests them with a home

THE 2015-16 Hurley Midgets are, from left, first row: Tandrell Foster, Chris Rye, James Sukanen, Kohl Manzanares and Jake Saari; second row: Isaac DeCarlo, Carson Thewis, Dante Bender, Kris Bluse and Josh Quello.

Jason Juno/ Daily Globe

game Dec. 3 against Phillips, which beat Hurley in last year’s regional final, a home matchup on Dec. 10 against Washburn, which went to the state semifinal last year, and a road trip to improved Ewen-Trout Creek Dec. 15.

“Nothing like seeing where you’re at, first game of the year,”

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Swartz said of Phillips. “They’ve got a lot coming back, but so do we. We’ll see where we stack up pretty early. It’s a long season.

We don’t really talk about goals, getting x number of wins; just getting better every day, making sure we’re working hard every day and improving ourselves.”

The game matters, though, in

seeding for March’s WIAA Division 4 regional because both teams are in the same 13-team half bracket. Hurley will be the smallest school in D-4. Both it and Athens have an enrollment of 197, but Athens had the tiebreaker and dropped to Division 5.

“It’s important to have a high

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seed, so you can have as many home games as possible or else you’re traveling and you’re traveling a long ways to a team you don’t know a whole lot about,” Swartz said. “I like knowing, I like playing the teams, I like watching them (before a playoff MIDGETS

—

HURLEY BOYS

SCHEDULE

Dec. 3, PHILLIPS, 7:15 Dec. 7, at South Shore, 7:15 Dec. 10, WASHBURN, 7:15 Dec. 14, at Butternut, 7 Dec. 15, at Ewen-Trout Creek, 6:30 Dec. 17, DRUMMOND, 7:15 Dec. 21, at Bayfield, 7:15 Jan. 4, CHEQUAMEGON, 7:15 Jan. 7, MELLEN, 7:15 Jan. 11, at Mercer, 7 Jan. 14, SOLON SPRINGS, 7:15 Jan. 18, NORTHWESTERN, 7:15 Jan. 19, SOUTH SHORE, 7:15 Jan. 22, at Washburn, 7:15 Jan. 25, NORTHLAND PINES, 7:15 Jan. 26, BUTTERNUT, 7 Feb. 2, BAYFIELD, 7:15 Feb. 5, at Ironwood, 7:15 Feb. 9, at Mellen, 7:15 Feb. 12, MERCER, 7 Feb. 16, at Solon Springs, 7:15 Feb. 19, ASHLAND, 7:15

GIRLS

(0-2)

SCHEDULE

Nov. 17, at Northland Pines (loss, 71-44) Dec. 1, at South Shore (loss, 43-29) Dec. 4, WASHBURN, 7:15 Dec. 8, at Butternut, 7 Dec. 11, DRUMMOND, 7:15 Dec. 15, at Chequamegon, 7:15 Dec. 18, at Bayfield, 7:15 Dec. 22, at Ironwood, 7:15 Jan. 5, MELLEN, 7:15 Jan. 8, at Mercer, 7 Jan. 12, SOLON SPRINGS, 7:15 Jan. 15, SOUTH SHORE, 7:15 Jan. 18, at Washburn, 7:15 Jan. 21, BUTTERNUT, 7 Jan. 28, BAYFIELD, 7:15 Feb. 1, IRONWOOD (NC), 7:15 Feb. 2, at Lakeland, 7:15 Feb. 4, at Mellen, 7:15 Feb. 8, MERCER, 7 Feb. 11, at Solon Springs, 7:15 Feb. 16, NORTHWESTERN, 7:15 Feb. 18, At Ashland, 7:15

RETURNING ALL-IC

Boys: James Sukanen Girls: None

ALL-CONFERENCE

PLAYERS

GRADUATES

Boys: Jake Tenlen Girls: Kirkie Pecotte, Natalie Moon, MaKayla Wolfe

STORYLINE

Boys: Hurley came on strong late last season; it hopes to start faster with no injuries to contend with this year.

Girls: The Midgettes lost seven seniors but still have a lot depth and athleticism.

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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2015

HOOPS

THE DAILY GLOBE • YOURDAILYGLOBE.COM

Speedboys seek success in new conference

By PAT KRAUSE

sorts@yourdailyglobe.com

BESSEMER — Richard Matrella is one of the new head coaches in the area and yet he isn’t.

That’s because he has plenty of experience with nine years as the head varsity girls coach in Bessemer and six more years as the freshman boys coach.

Last year, Jim Partanen was the Speedboys’ head coach and he led the team to an impressive 17-5 record and a district tournament finals loss to Crystal Falls Forest Park.

When Partanen retired from teaching and coaching, Matrella decided to switch over from the girls team to the boys.

“I just felt it was time to make the switch,” Matrella said.

“There was a huge turnover from the year before, so there would be a few bumps as I introduce my system. Just the timing was right for a new challenge. Practice has been going well, but it’s going to take some time so everyone (most of all me) need to be patient.

“I also felt that when I turned over the girls I wanted a good foundation set for the new coach.

I feel this has been done and coach Pelissero should have a successful first year. I’m glad he accepted the challenge and stepped up to varsity.”

Mark Mazzon will help in the transition as he has been the junior varsity/assistant varsity coach for a number of years and

Pat Krause/Daily Globe

THE 2015-16 Bessemer Speedboys are from left, first row: Jason Turula, T.J. Mazurek, Luke Zielinski and Cade Mazzon; second row: Jared Janczak, Brayden Tomes, Josh McGeshick, Ben Bogaczyk, Max Samardich, Keegan Bolen and coach Richard Matrella.

Ross Solberg will be the seventh and eighth grade coach.

Matrella said he thinks the main strength of the Speedboys will be its versatility.

“I think we are very versatile,” Matrella said. “Players fit each position on the court and can play multiple positions. Though I would not consider us a tall team, we have good length and athleticism. I feel this often translates into a good defensive and rebounding team.”

Matrella said he is most con-

cerned about the team’s lack of experience. Max Samardich is the only player with a full year of varsity experience and Luke Zielinski and Ben Bogaczyk have about a half a year of playing experience. There are no seniors or returning starters on the rosters.

“This will complicate things when games are close or quick on-court decisions need to be made. It will also take time to hash out leadership roles on the team.”

Bessemer will have a ten man varsity roster in 2015-16, starting with the juniors.

Again Samardich is the one player with a full year of varsity experience. Matrella said he is a good scorer and very athletic.

The team will look to him to provide steady scoring.

“Luke Zielinski is a good scorer as a spot-up shooter or off the dribble and is very active and can handle the ball well under pressure,” Matrella said.

Ben Bogaczyk injured his

wrist in football and will not be available to play for awhile. He is a true post presence for the Speedboys and is also very athletic. He is also a good rebounder.

Keegon Bolen is a long athletic guard/wing player that can shoot the ball well. He plays very good defense and is good on and off the ball. He is another good rebounder and always has a good attitude.

SPEEDBOYS

—

page 9

BESSEMER BOYS

GIRLS

Pat Krause/Daily Globe

THE 2015-16 Bessemer Speedgirls are from left, first row: Allyson Metas, Caitlyn Pelissero, Madeline Gabka, Megan Peterson and Tia Webber; second row: coach Gerry Pelissero, Rachel Emery, Karli Trcka, Jordyn Mazanec, Caitlyn Lynch, Rachel Mazurek and Emily Matonich.

Pelissero takes over tall group of Speedgirls

By PAT KRAUSE

sports@yourdailyglobe.com

BESSEMER – Some might look at the coaching resume of new Bessemer Speedgirl coach Gerry Pelissero and conclude he is a little light on varsity head coaching experience. But Pelissero has a unique way of looking at the experience issue.

“I coached elementary basketball and then JV (junior varsity) for nine years,” Pelissero said.

“Coaching JV really helped. I would coach the JV game and then assist, support and advise the varsity coach. So it was like coaching two games a night.”

Plus, everybody has to start

somewhere.

But Pelissero knows being the main man brings with it much more responsibility.

“It’s interesting because I’ve been waiting for this opportunity and now it’s up to me,” Pelissero said. “Now it’s time for me to put up or shut up and see if I can build the program and help it grow.”

Pelissero’s extroverted personality on the sidelines should help to keep up the Speedgirls’ enthusiasm, good attitudes and respect for the game intact.

Pelissero has realized the secret to building a winning basketball team is that there is no

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“My goal and the goal of the girls is to get better every day from the first day of practice on Nov. 9,” he said. “We want to be as fundamentally sound as we can be. We set the bar on that Monday and we wanted to pass it on Tuesday.”

Pelissero said one of Bessemer’s team strengths will be its good height. The girls playing inside will be 6-2, 6-0, 5-10 and 59 and the guards are at least 5-4.

He said Bessemer’s height could create match-up problems for teams and one thing you can’t teach is height.

Pelissero also likes his team’s

experience as six of the 11 varsity players have varsity experience and five played a lot last year.

Rachel Mazurek (5-9, senior) is a tri-captain and this is her third season on the varsity team.

“As one of the taller girls on the team, she presents match-up problems for other teams,” Pelissero said. “She is also quick and strong and a hard worker.”

Pelissero thinks Rachel Emery (5-10, junior) will make real progress on the basketball court this year. He said she plays in the post, rebounds well, is a good defender and could be a potential scorer.

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Senior swing guard Caitlyn Pelissero (5-4) will be a tri-captain and team leader as she was in volleyball. She runs the offense well from her point guard position and can flat out shoot from the outside when she gets hot.

Pelissero said Allyson Metas (5-4, junior) moved up to the varsity as a sophomore and may see more playing time as a junior.

She plays good defense, handles the ball well and can put the biscuit in the basket at times.

Megan Peterson (5-4, sophomore) will be in her second year SPEEDGIRLS

—

SCHEDULE

Dec. 7, at Jeffers, 6:20 Dec. 10, at Wakefield-Marenisco, 6:30 Dec. 14, DOLLAR BAY, 6:20 Dec. 18, at Ewen-Trout Creek, 6:30 Jan. 4, at Ontonagon, 6:20 Jan. 7, REPUBLIC-MICHIGAMME, 6:20 Jan. 12, at Ironwood, 7 Jan. 18, BARAGA, 6:20 Jan. 21, WATERSMEET, 6:30 Jan. 29, at Chassell, 6:20 Feb. 2, HANCOCK, 6:20 Feb. 5, LAKE LINDEN-HUBBELL, 6:20 Feb. 9, WAKEFIELD-MARENISCO, 6:30 Feb. 12, at Watersmeet, 6:30 Feb. 16, at Hancock, 6:30 Feb. 18, BAYFIELD, 6:30 Feb. 19, at Dollar Bay, 6:30 Feb. 23, IRONWOOD, 6:30 Feb. 26, ONTONAGON, 6:30 March 3, EWEN-TROUT CREEK, 6:30 SCHEDULE

(0-1)

Dec. 1, DOLLAR BAY (loss, 47-34) Dec. 4, at Wakefield-Marenisco, 6:30 Dec. 8, HANCOCK, 6:20 Dec. 15, WATERSMEET, 6:30 Dec. 18, JEFFERS, 6:30 Dec. 28, at Washburn Jan. 5, at Dollar Bay, 6:20 Jan. 8, CHASSELL, 6:20 Jan. 11, EWEN-TROUT CREEK, 6:20 Jan. 12, at Lake Linden-Hubbell, 6:20 Jan. 15, at Baraga, 6:20 Jan. 19, at Watersmeet, 6 Jan. 22, ONTONAGON, 6:20 Jan. 28, at Ewen-Trout Creek, 6:30 Feb. 1, WAKEFIELD-MARENISCO, 6:30 Feb. 4, at Hancock, 6:20 Feb. 8, at Ironwood, 7 Feb. 11, at Republic-Michigamme, 6:20 Feb. 18, at Ontonagon, 6:20

RETURNING ALL-CONFERENCE PLAYERS

Boys: None Girls: Caitlyn Pelissero.

ALL-CONFERENCE

LOSSES

Boys: Lance Berwald, Zack Mazurek, Jess Mazzon, Andrew Peterson Girls: Whitney Trcka, Valerie Rowe.

STORYLINE

Boys: The Speedboys with new coach Richard Matrella will need to overcome losing four all-conference players.

Girls: The Speedgirls’ advantage will be inside as Gerry Pelissero moves from JV to varsity coach.

page 7

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HOOPS

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2015

Cardinals expected to compete for conference title

W- M CARDINALS BOYS

GIRLS

years ago, the core group of players figured out how to win and not just compete and there’s no stopping them now.

Mahler said there are some younger players who look like they’re ready to contribute to the team.

And Mahler thinks W-M can play a different style of basketball that will be beneficial over the long haul.

“I think we have some latent speed that people haven’t seen before,” Mahler said. “Pete’s style was a little different than mine.

We’ve been working on speed, running the floor and being aggressive.”

Mahler’s biggest concern is the Cardinals will not be a big team.

“Lauren was our tallest girl,”

Mahler said. “We’re not big, we have no size and we don’t have a girl that’s 6-0. I’m mainly counting on Rachel Obradovich to pick up the slack. She’s 5-9 but strong.”

Mahler thinks things will still be fine, because he has the Yon sisters, Hallee and Kassidee, back as senior leaders and in their fourth year on the varsity team.

Mahler said Hallee Yon (5-6, senior) is the tip of the spear in W-M’s offense and runs the show from her point guard position. He sees and runs the court very well and is a good passer. She averaged 8.3 points per game and she can shoot the rock from the outside if need be.

Kassidee Yon (5-6, senior) can shoot the ball from many spots

on the court and she averaged 11.5 points per game last year.

She runs the floor well and she and her sister are a very good pair on the fast break. Kassidee is also a tough defender and a good rebounder despite giving away size at times.

Both Yons are real good allaround players.

Mahler said Darienne Korpi (5-7, junior) is not as tall as Grace , but Mahler feels she is a similar-type player and can fill some of the roles Grace played.

Korpi averaged 9.1 points per game and will be asked to go to the basket more often for more scoring. Mahler said she never gets out of position on the court and has improved each year on the varsity squad.

“Rachel Obradovich (5-9,

junior) is always in the weightroom or at open gyms and she is very strong. She is a good on defense and can post up inside.

She only played five games on varsity last year and I’m glad she’s back out. I think she’ll have a major impact on our inside game.”

Mahler said Heather Hemming (5-5, senior) is not big, but she goes all-out, especially on the inside. Mahler plans to play an up-tempo defense and Hemming will be asked to play a lot of roles and he will rely on her a lot.

“She has a nose for the ball and can be very disruptive on D,” Mahler said.

Mahler feels Makayla Mahler (5-6, junior will play the 3 spot CARDINALS

—

RETURNING ALL-CONFERENCE PLAYERS

Boys: Shane Cole, Collin Gagnon Girls: Lauren Grace (injured), Kassidee Yon, Hallee Yon, Darienne Korpi.

ALL-CONFERENCE GRADUATES

Boys: Kevin Lane Girls: None

page 8

STORYLINE

Boys: The Cardinals have nine seniors looking to contend in the Copper Mountain.

Girls: W-M figures to be among the top teams in the Copper Mountain and is a team that likes to run and can shoot.

By PAT KRAUSE

sports@yourdailyglobe.com

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so many things to help the team, some that don’t show up in the scorebook. Cole is a strong player who rebounds well and has a good shot, especially on the inside. (12 ppg.) A leader who is a tri-captain, Fetters is looking for him to step up his game this year.

Nick Tarro (5-8) has earned a starting guard spot as a senior after being a spot starter last year. He is good on the full-court press and can shoot the rock from the perimeter.

Jacob Suzik (6-2, So.) played on the junior varsity last season but really made a splash when he

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player last year but will step into a starting position at guard. He will be a captain and is now an offensive threat as he worked hard in the summer on his shooting and driving to the basket to create a shot or dish off.

Collin Gagnon (5-9, Sr.) has started at guard since he was a freshman. He understands the game well and knows what Fetters wants from him. He can knock down a 3-ball, attack the basket and play with defensive energy. Another Cardinal captain.

Fetters is very high on Shane Cole (6-0, Jr.), because he can do

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more,” Fetters said. “Even though he’s bigger, he spends more time on the perimeter and can shoot the ball.”

Fetters said Jake Franklin (59, Jr.) will get a lot of quality minutes this season. He is a very smart basketball player and always in the right place at the right time.

Quentin Mattson (6-1, Sr.) put in a lot of time in the summer working on his game. He will play inside and is the best player on the team at using both his right and left hand.

Fetters said Dean Ervans (5-8, Sr.) played on the JV as a junior as it was his first year of organized basketball. He said Ervans can really jump and did well in the team’s recent scrimmage and Fetters said he may “surprise people.”

“Trevor Johnson (5-10, Sr.) loves basketball and is quick and fast and a hard worker who will help the team on defense,” Fetters said.

Fetters feels Austin Libertoski (5-5, Jr.) has the “biggest heart” on the team. He gives great effort

THE 2015-16 Wakefield-Marenisco Cardinals are from left, first row: Nick Tarro, Austin Libertoski, Deon Ervans, Scott LaRock, Jake Franklin, Ryan Hemming and Nick Orlich; second row: Coach Terry Fetters, Collin Gagnon, Shane Cole, Quentin Mattson, Jake Suzik, Wyatt Barto, Trevor Johnson, Tommy Libertoski and assistant coach Pat Libertoski. want his team to have to outscore the opposing team in order to get a win.

“I’m stressing defense and have been preaching it from day one,” Fetters said. “Defense is something you have to work on every day in practice. We know we have to keep our opponents’ points down. I know our defense needs work.”

Fetters will not only have good players, but he will also have good depth as he welcomed 15 varsity players to the first day of practice.

Fetters said Tommy Libertoski (5-11, Sr.) was more of a role

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entered W-M’s first tournament game. There will be no more JV play for him.

“He is very athletic and our big man in the middle,” Fetters said. “He goes 100 percent, 100 percent of the time.”

For Wyatt Barto (6-0, Sr.) and Randy Hemming (5-9, Sr.), they may look like big, tough football players, but they give the Cardinals good quality minutes when they go on the court. They are hard-working players who are good rebounders and defenders and will mix it up on the inside.

“Nick Orlich (5-10, Sr.) is a big solid kid who came up as a sopho-

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CARDINALS

TOWTALLY TOWTALLY TOWTALLY Operated by

(1-0)

SCHEDULE

Nov. 30, BAYFIELD (won 53-39) Dec. 4, BESSEMER, 6:30 Dec. 8, at Ontonagon, 6:20 Dec. 11, at Watersmeet, 6:30 Dec. 18, at Crystal Falls Forest Park, 7 Jan. 4, CALUMET, 6:30 Jan. 7, at Dollar Bay, 6:20 Jan. 11, THREE LAKES, 7 Jan. 15, at Chassell, 6:20 Jan. 18, EWEN-TROUT CREEK, 6:30 Jan. 22, LAKE LINDEN-HUBBELL, 6:30 Jan. 26, at L’Anse, 6:20 Jan. 28, ONTONAGON, 6:30 Feb. 1, at Bessemer, 6:30 Feb. 8, BARAGA, 6:30 Feb. 11, at Jeffers, 6:20 Feb. 16, IRONWOOD, 6:30 Feb. 18, REPUBLIC-MICHIGAMME, 6:30 Feb. 22, at Ewen-Trout Creek, 6:30 Feb. 23, WATERSMEET, 6:30

Pat Krause/Daily Globe

THE 2015-16 Wakefield-Marenisco Cardinals are, from left, first row: Brianna Dalbec, Heather Hemming, Elizabeth Makela, Kassidee Yon, assistant coach Nicole Ribich, student assistant coach Lauren Grace; second row: head coach Bruce Mahler, Hallee Yon, Alexa Jilek, Rachel Obradovich, Saundra Libertoski and Makayla Mahler.

Cardinals’ nine seniors poised for good season in new league WAKEFIELD – In many preseasons past, the word began to spread among coaches and fans.

The Wakefield-Marenisco boys basketball team was very athletic and had some of the best basketball talent in the area.

They were usually tabbed as favorites to win the conference and do some serious damage in tournament play.

But when the games started, the Cardinals showed flashes of top-notch play, but their season would fizzle out and end in disappointment.

Last year, the Cardinals finished with an indifferent 12-10 record And don’t think W-M coach Terry Fetters hasn’t heard the grumblings. W-M doesn’t play together as a team and they don’t defense.

So why is Fetters, now in his fourth year at the helm of the Cardinals, walking around like a man who has the winning lottery ticket in his pocket. It’s because he thinks things have changed in Cardinal nation and he will tell you why.

“We have nine seniors and they are good mature seniors,” Fetters said. “We have lots of experience and that goes towards good leadership. They like each other and have played together for a long time. I think we will finally play together as a team.”

Fetters also said he doesn’t

SCHEDULE

Dec. 7, at Republic-Michigamme, 6:30 Dec. 10, BESSEMER, 6:30 Dec. 14, JEFFERS, 6:30 Jan. 4, at Ewen-Trout Creek, 6:30 Jan. 5, at Three Lakes, 7 Jan. 8, IRONWOOD, 6:30 Jan. 14, at Ontonagon, 6:20 Jan. 19, DOLLAR BAY, 6:30 Jan. 22, at L’Anse, 6:20 Jan. 26, at Baraga, 6:20 Feb. 2, CHASSELL, 6:30 Feb. 5, ONTONAGON, 6:30 Feb. 9, at Bessemer, 6:30 Feb. 16, at Lake Linden-Hubbell, 6:20 Feb. 19, WATERSMEET, 6:30 Feb. 22, BAYFIELD, 6:30 Feb. 25, at Mellen, 7 Feb. 26, at Ironwood, 7 March 1, EWEN-TROUT CREEK, 6:30 March 3, at Watersmeet, 6:30

By PAT KRAUSE

sports@yourdailyglobe.com

WAKEFIELD – Last year, a Pete Yon coached WakefieldMarenisco girl’s team marched through the regular season with a 17-3 record and won the Porcupine Mountain Conference title (6-0) and were co-champs with Hurley in the Indianhead Conference East Division. They fell to Crystal Falls Forest Park in the district tournament finals.

Why does Crystal Falls Forest Park have to be so good at everything?

Two things have changed for the Cardinals since that memorable season. Yon resigned as the team’s head coach and Lauren Grace, who was a standout player in our area, suffered a major leg injury.

Former junior varsity coach Bruce Mahler has taken over the reins on the varsity team and Grace is coming along well with her rehabilitation but will be a student assistant coach and not play her senior year.

“Things are going to be fine,” Mahler said. “I took the girl’s job, because Pete had coached the girls since they were in fourth grade and I thought they should have some continuity. And everybody wanted Lauren to still be part of the team. We will go hard 100 percent of the time and all the girls will get a lot of playing time. We’re pushing forward.”

Mahler said the strength of this year’s team will still be its experience as some players will be playing their fourth season on varsity. About one-and-a half

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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2015

HOOPS

THE DAILY GLOBE • YOURDAILYGLOBE.COM

Panthers among top teams in Copper Mountain in practice from former players Chase Leskela, an all-stater, and Logan Maki, which allows E-TC to play 5-on-5.

“We’ve got some intense practices. We’ve always done that, played fast,” Besonen said. “They all work hard. You don’t have to worry about getting them to work hard, which makes for really, really nice practices.”

E-TC’s lack of depth could be a problem at some point.

“If you’ve got one guy with the flu, one guy injured and then foul trouble, you’re going to be hurting with only eight guys,” Besonen said. “We play fast and hard, we really dig in on defense. You really need to have guys to play like that. That really could be an issue if those things combine and hit us at the same time. The eight we do have, they work hard, so they’re going to be in shape.”

By JASON JUNO

sports@yourdailyglobe.com

EWEN — Ewen-Trout Creek looks to compete for a championship in the first year of the Copper Mountain Conference.

The Panthers only have eight players, but two seniors are beginning their third year on varsity and sophomore Jake Witt may be E-TC’s tallest player in over 20 years.

“I think we can definitely compete for the top of (the conference),” E-TC coach Brad Besonen said. “I’m really excited, the kids are really excited about the opportunity to have a good season.”

The Copper Mountain, a combination of the former Porcupine Mountain and Copper Country conferences, will present challenges. Lake Linden-Hubbell lost a big senior class from a team that went 20-0 in the regular season and beat Crystal Falls Forest Park in the regional, but they still look to be good. Wakefield-Marenisco has some solid players on its roster and Besonen also expects Dollar Bay to be good with an impressive young player and a good JV team recently. Ontonagon also could rebound, Besonen said, after injuries hurt last year and a new coach could help infuse some energy into the Gladatiors.

Forest Park has dominated the Class D District 127 tournament lately and should be a top contender to do that again; Besonen expects Dan Nocerini to be excellent.

“They’ll definitely be one of the top teams in our district,” Besonen said. “I think we can compete for that as well. The big thing for us is if we can stay healthy and keep our roster intact that way.”

Defending state champion North Central returns all but one player and is also coming off an 8-man football state title.

“I think they could win every class (in the U.P.),” Besonen said.

“They’re ridiculous and they’re not done after this year. Their better players are going to be juniors. It’d be nice to have an opportunity to play them.”

Submitted photo

THE 2015-16 Ewen-Trout Creek Panthers include, from left: Jake Witt, Alan Goll, Jack Boro, Austin Berglund, Levi Lindberg, Landon Maki, Brandon Store and Eli Nordine.

The Panthers third-year players are seniors Landon Maki (60) and Alan Goll (5-8).

“I’m expecting a lot from the seniors that are in their third year,” Besonen said.

Maki is stronger and quicker than he was last year and has been getting by people in off-season basketball. He’s trying to get through a hip flexor injury.

“He will handle the ball well for us,” Besonen said. “He’s a really good cutter, has good instincts offensively and is our best team defender. He’s really good at help side and rotation, he’s probably our leading charge taker returning.

“Alan had some nice games last year. He’s a streaky shooter, probably our best 3-point threat.

He, like Landon, has gotten stronger and quicker since last year. I really like Alan’s intensity on the floor. He works hard, he’s not afraid to put his body on the line for a ball.”

Witt is 6-6, almost 6-7; Besonen couldn’t remember a taller Panther since his assistant coach Dave Polkky (6-7), who graduated in the early 1990s.

Witt averaged about 9 points and 9 rebounds as a freshman.

He’s coming into his sophomore year with about 15 more pounds of muscle after hitting the weight room in the offseason. He dunks in practice regularly, not exactly normal around here.

“We are expecting big things from Jacob this year,” Besonen said. “We haven’t had a basketball player hit the weight room like he has. That’s really going to help him on the low block and just his explosiveness. He’s a much different athlete than he was last year. He’s always had good skills for his size. He can shoot it well. He puts it on the floor well with both hands. He can handle it in transition.

“He’s so skilled and so athletic for 6-6; he doesn’t look like a normal 6-6 U.P. kid. He’s got a lot of skill to go with it.”

Senior Jack Boro (6-2) will join Witt inside. About midway through last season, he started to average double figures in scoring and is really solid on the block.

“He’s a pretty rugged kid inside,” Besonen said. “He handles the ball well for a big guy.

He’s a good, smart player. He’s got really good leadership skills.

Him and Jake down low, I think we have a really good 1-2 punch down on the block, on the glass and on the offensive end.”

Freshman Eli Nordine (5-5) didn’t miss a workout this summer.

“That really gave him an opportunity to get a lot of minutes as a freshman and maybe even into the starting lineup,” Besonen said. “He’s very fast, a great ballhandler, has a really good feel for the game, he plays the pick-and-roll really well as a ballhandler. I guess his best attribute is he’s a great shooter from the perimeter.”

He also is battling a hip flexor injury.

“One of the two has to heal quickly,” Besonen said. “We need them both to heal quickly, but we really need one to crack the lineup.”

Junior Austin Berglund (6-1), a guard, joined the varsity team with seven games left last season and Besonen said he played well after settling in.

“He’s pretty scrappy on

defense,” Besonen said. “He’s very quick and has long arms, he has the makings of a good defender. He has the potential to be one of our top scorers with his ability to get into the paint and finish.

“We’ve got six that really are going to play a lot. Outside of Jake, I think the other five are pretty interchangeable.”

Senior Brandon Store (6-0) is out for the first time and he’ll be a forward/guard. He’s shot well in practice thus far and needs to learn more about E-TC’s offense and defense.

“He’s a real strong kid,” Besonen said. “If we get in foul trouble with our bigs, he’s one of the guys who’s going to have to play post defense.”

Junior Levi Lindberg (5-11) is also on varsity for the first time.

He’ll see some time this season.

“He’s very fast and quick,” Besonen said. “He’s got long arms. We’re going to really work him coming in on being a good on-the-ball defender and a very good rotational defensive player.”

The Panthers have some help

Young Panthers aim to improve throughout season

By PAT KRAUSE

sports@yourdailyglobe.com

EWEN – Entering her sixth season as the head girl’s coach of the Ewen-Trout Creek Panthers, Jacky Besonen has experienced her share of the high highs and low lows that usually are associated with coaching.

Most high school basketball coaches know that basketball talent goes in cycles and so do basketball victories. The dedicated coaches are the ones who stick with their programs in lean times and work to help them grow and prosper once again.

That could easily describe Besonen after enduring a 1-18 regular season and an openinground loss to Wakefield-Marenisco in the district tournament.

And the Panthers face the daunting task of improving an offense that lost Molly Niemi to graduation. Niemi averaged 18 points per game and six rebounds a contest. In a game at Lake Linden, Niemi scored 28-points, while the E-TC team added another two.

“We are going to be a young team with a lot of freshmen and sophomores,” Besonen said. “But the girls have to step it up and improve our offense. We’ve got to put the ball in the basket. We’re focusing on offense and if we score more, it should increase the confidence of a young team.

“One of our scoring goals is to score 40 points a game. It may be hard, but it would give us a good chance of winning. We may be young, but we want to be compet-

Submitted photo

THE 2015-16 Ewen-Trout Creek Panthers are, from left, first row: Paige Berglund, Sara Pantti, Madelynn Cronkright and Skylar Anderson; second row: Emily Driesenga, Kaitlyn Brady, Ava Moilanen and Jenna Hash. Tiffany Store is missing from the photo. itive” Besonen said she thinks defense could be a strength for the Panthers.

“We’re hoping to be a strong defensive team as well as improving our offense,” Besonen said.

“We also have to improve our

Good Luck Teams!

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rebounding. Last year, we were giving teams getting two and three shots at a time.”

E-TC will have nine players on the varsity roster.

Emily Driesenga (5-5, junior) made the Second Team All-Conference in the Porcupine Moun-

tain Conference last season. As a sophomore, she played against bigger girls but is a good jumper and rebounder and averaged nine points per game and four rebounds. She is athletic and shooting better and Besonen is hoping she increases her scoring.

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Besonen said Skylar Anderson (5-3, senior) is playing her third year on varsity as a guard. She is more relaxed and confident in her shooting and ball-handling.

Madeline Cronkright (5-4, sophomore) was named honorable mention in the PMC as a freshman.

“She scored five points per game and ran the show from her point guard position,” Besonen said. “I’m expecting big things from her this year. I think she’ll step up in her scoring and leadership.”

Besonen said Kaitlyn Brady (57, freshman) played part of last season as an eighth-grader and the other part on the JV team and handled both well as a forward.

She developed and grew as a player and with her shooting and rebounding improving, Besonen projects her as a starter.

Ava Moilonen is a 5-8 freshman who is very strong and athletic and Besonen sees her helping on defense and with the rebounding. She could see a lot of playing time.

Eighth graders can only play 13 games on varsity and Besonen said Paige Berglund (5-6, guard) will help out as a quick, athletic defensive player. Besonen thinks the varsity experience will be beneficial to Berglund.

“Jenna Hash (5-4, senior) is very good at finding the ball and is the best rebounder on our team,” Besonen said. “She is strong and goes hard on defense.”

Besonen said Sara Pantti (5-0, senior) has a lot of experience in

E-TC PA N T H E R S BOYS

SCHEDULE

GIRLS

SCHEDIULE

All Times EST

Dec. 7, ONTONAGON, 7:30 Dec. 10, at Hancock, 7:20 Dec. 15, HURLEY, 7:30 Dec. 18, BESSEMER, 7:30 Jan. 4, WAKEFIELD-MARENISCO, 7:30 Jan. 7, at Houghton, 7:30 Jan. 14, WATERSMEET, 7:30 Jan. 15, L’ANSE, 7:30 Jan. 21, CHASSELL, 7:30 Jan. 22, REPUBLIC, 7:30 Jan. 26, LAKE LINDEN-HUBBELL, 7:30 Jan. 29, L’ANSE, 7:20 Feb. 2, at Ontonagon, 7:20 Feb. 5, at Jeffers, 7:20 Feb. 8, vs. Drummond at Northland College, Ashland, 7:30 Feb. 9, at Dollar Bay, 7:20 Feb. 19, BARAGA, 7:30 Feb. 23, at Watersmeet, 7:20 March 1, at Wakefield-Marenisco, 7:30 March 3, at Bessemer, 7:30 ALL TIMES EST

Dec. 3, BARAGA, 7:30 Dec. 8, at Chassell, 7:20 Dec. 11, LAKE LINDEN-HUBBELL, 7:30 Dec. 15, at Republic, 7:30 Dec. 21, at L’Anse, 7:30 Jan. 5, MERCER, 7:30 Jan. 11, at Bessemer, 7:30 Jan. 15, at Ontonagon, 7:20 Jan. 18, at Wakefield-Marenisco, 7:30 Jan. 25, REPUBLIC, 7:30 Jan. 28, BESSEMER, 7:30 Feb. 4, DOLLAR BAY, 7:30 Feb. 8, ONTONAGON, 7:30 Feb. 11, at Watersmeet, 7 Feb. 15, at Baraga, 7:20 Feb. 18, JEFFERS, 7:30 Feb. 22, WAKEFIELD-MARENISCO, 7:30 Feb. 25, at Dollar Bay, 7:20 Feb. 26, WATERSMEET, 7:30

RETURNING ALL-CONFERENCE PLAYERS

Boys: Jake Witt Girls: Emily Driesenga

ALL-CONFERENCE GRADUATES

Boys: Jacob Moilanen Girls: Molly Niemi

STORYLINE Boys: The Panthers may have the best big man around and will look to contend in the Copper Mountain.

Girls: E-TC loses Molly Niemi, who scored most of their points, but the Panthers look to be better offensively and be competitive.

the program and will help out at the guard/wing spot. She is a 2guard and can shoot.

Tiffany Store (5-4 senior) played on the junior varsity team as a junior but is fast and can run the floor well and play good defense.

The Panthers will play in the new Copper Mountain Conference and Besonen thinks Ontonagon and Wakefield-Marenisco will be the favorites to finish on top. She said Lake Linden and Chassell could make things interesting.

Zoey McGeshick will be in her second year as an assistant coach to Besonen.

E-TC opens its season at home against Baraga on Dec. 3 .

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HOOPS

THE DAILY GLOBE • YOURDAILYGLOBE.COM

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2015

7

Tigers look to compete in Indianhead Conference

By JASON JUNO

sports@yourdailyglobe.com

MERCER, Wis. — Mercer lost about 70 percent of its scoring when Lexi Engler and Shania St. Germaine graduated last year.

The Tigers, though, aren’t in rebuilding mode. They return an experienced group and will focus on defense early on as the offense finds its way.

“I return some pretty good players this year,” Mercer coach Shannon Hiller said.

“We’ll still be competitive. We’ll still be challenging most teams out there.”

Defense will be important as Mercer develops its offense throughout the season.

“We’re definitely going to be a muchimproved defensive team this year,” Hiller said. “We’ve been spending a lot of time on defense. We realize we don’t have that pure scorer. We don’t have that girl we can count on to get 20 points a night. It could happen, somebody could come through down the road. For us to win games, we have to shut the other team down. Our defense is going to be much improved this year. We have some pretty quick girls, we can cover most teams. We have some two big girls, so we can cover any other team’s bigs. We have three quick guards on the outside. We’re going to throw a lot at people defensively.”

Depth will be an issue as Mercer likely only goes seven deep, but they’ve been working hard to get into shape for that.

“That’s something I’m a little worried about because we added four minutes tonto the game,” Hiller said of the two 18minute halves replacing four eight-minute quarters this year. “I’m going to have to be really careful in time management and timeouts. The Hurleys and the Washburns don’t have to worry about that because they have plenty of people on

their bench. I don’t have that.”

Hiller expects a competitive Indianhead Conference with pretty evenly matched teams. He said Bayfield could be the favorite, if most everyone is back from last year. But everyone can be in the mix: Large schools and traditionally strong teams Hurley and Washburn, Ironwood with much of the team back, Butternut, which was improving last year, young Mellen, which beat Winter already this season, and South Shore and Solon Springs.

“I think we have a definite opportunity to be right in the mix with all of them,” Hiller said.

Captains will be: Senior Sarah Kirchoff (5-4) and juniors Sydney Thompson (5-11) and Caitlyn Hiller (5-5).

Mercer will need more scoring out of Hiller, a guard.

“She has definitely picked up her offensive game,” coach Hiller said. “She realizes somebody has to pick up some of the slack. She’s working hard on her shot, developing a nice outside shot.”

Hiller and sophomore Gwen Allen (5-3) will probably share time at point guard.

Both will start in the backcourt.

Allen is the smallest and toughest girl on the team, he said.

“She is not afraid to take it inside,” Hiller said. “She was one of our leaders last year in rebounding being one of the smallest girls. She is fearless. Last year, I put her on Megan Gustafson (6-3), she just went out and bothered her the best she could.”

Hiller and Thompson are three-year starters. “(Thompson’s) working really hard on developing a nice inside game,” Hiller said. “She’s working on developing her ballhandling skills as well. She’s actually very confident with the ball now.”

Submitted photo

The 2015-16 Mercer Tigers are, from left: Christina Grams, Caitlyn Hiller, Gwen Allen, Sydney Thompson, Sarah Kirchoff, Taylor Wolfe, Austine Heikkinen, Kirsten Tillman and Bailey Thompson. Missing from photo are Ava Losh and Billy Botes.

Thompson, at 5-11, and senior Taylor Wolfe (6-0) give the Tigers an advantage inside. Wolfe will also be counted on for increased offense to make up for Mercer’s loss of scoring from last season.

“We’re going to try to utilize our strengths,” Hiller said. “(Wolfe’s) one of the most lengthy girls. Not too many girls are going to be able to block her shot when she gets closer to the basket.”

Kirchoff saw some time on the varsity team last year.

“She has definitely come in this year with a much different attitude towards basketball and it shows,” Hiller said.

“She’s really fitting in nicely.”

Junior Christina Grams returns to the district. Grams and Kirchoff will be the fifth and sixth player, although Hiller isn’t sure which will start. Both will probably see equal minutes. “(Grams’) played basketball for many years. She has a lot of ability,” Hiller said.

The Tigers will havea foreign exchange student, Kerstin Tillman of Germany.

Other players include: Freshman Bailey Thompson (5-6), freshman Billie Botes (5-6) and Austine Heikkinen (5-2). Sophomore Ava Losh (5-6) is battling an injury.

Mercer plans on playing nearly 10 JV games.

Thomas Tollakson will assist Hiller.

Mercer boys expecting better campaign with solid guards

By JASON JUNO

sports@yourdailyglobe.com

MERCER, Wis. — Mercer tripled its win total to six last season and second-year coach Adam Miller thinks the Tigers can increase that mark this year.

The Tigers were in 17 of their 23 games last year.

"We're going to be better than last year," Miller said.

Mercer doesn't expect to be competing with Washburn for the Indianhead Conference title yet.

"I like to say upper lower half, that would be a good goal," Miller said. "If we could finish in sixth, that would definitely be a plus for Mercer. I wouldn't be surprised in fourth through ninth. It all depends on how we gel as a team, how fast things go."

Mercer returns five players and adds a junior, a sophomore and two freshmen.

"They're dedicated, they listen well, they want to learn, they're very good kids," Miller said.

"Last year was big for us. We had six wins and it was big for them.

Getting those six wins was the most we had in six or seven years. They want to win. They're sick of losing. The competitiveness was nice last year. They liked being in just about every single game."

Junior Tarrin St. Germaine (5-10) should have some help handling the ball this year in Miller's stepson, freshman Alex Schmidt (5-11). St. Germaine will be more free to shoot without having to be on the ball all the time.

"He is going to be a great Robin to our Batman Tarrin," Miller said. "It's finally going to

Speedgirls From page 4 on the varsity squad.

“Megan has very good basketball instincts,” Pelissero said.

“She’s always around the basketball. She will play many different roles and positions on the team.”

Jordyn Mazanec (6-2, senior)

THE 2015-16 Mercer Tigers are, from left, first row: Avery Brandt, Alex Schmidt and Tarrin St. Germaine; second row: Aaron Luse, Johnny Cassiani, Kyle Lukes, Jake Hill, James Reichard and Carl Wewasson.

Submitted photo

MERCER TIGERS BOYS

SCHEDULE

(0-1)

GIRLS

SCHEDULE

(1-0)

Dec. 1, MELLEN (loss, 70-59) Dec. 4, BAYFIELD, 7:15 Dec. 8, WINTER, 7:15 Dec. 11, SOUTH SHORE, 7:15 Dec. 14, at Solon Springs, 7:15 Dec. 15, LCO, 7:15 Dec. 18, at Washburn, 7:15 Jan. 4, BUTTERNUT, 7 Jan. 7, at Drummond, 7:15 Jan. 11, HURLEY, 7 Jan. 14, at Ironwood, 7:15 Jan. 18, at Watersmeet, 6:30 Jan. 22, at Bayfield, 7:15 Jan. 25, FLAMBEAU, 7:15 Jan. 28, WASHBURN, 7:15 Jan. 29, at South Shore, 7:15 Feb. 5, at Butternut, 7:15 Feb. 9, DRUMMOND, 7:15 Feb. 12, at Hurley, 7 Feb. 15, at Phelps, 7:15 Feb. 18, IRONWOOD, 7:15 Feb. 22, at Goodman-Pembine, 7 Dec. 1, MELLEN (win, 45-30) Dec. 4, BAYFIELD, 5:45 Dec. 8, WINTER, 5:45 Dec. 11, SOUTH SHORE, 5:45 Dec. 14, at Solon Springs, 5:45 Dec. 15, LCO, 5:45 Dec. 18, at Washburn, 5:45 Dec. 22, BUTTERNUT, 7 Jan. 5, at Ewen-Trout Creek Jan. 7, at Drummond, 5:45 Jan. 8, HURLEY, 7 Jan. 14, at Ironwood, 5:45 Jan. 18, at Watersmeet, 5 Jan. 22, at Bayfield, 5:45 Jan. 25, FLAMBEAU, 5:45 Jan. 28, WASHBURN, 5:45 Jan. 29, at South Shore, 5:45 Feb. 5, at Butternut, 5:45 Feb. 8, at Hurley, 7 Feb. 9, DRUMMOND, 5:45 Feb. 15, at Phelps, 5:45 Feb. 18, IRONWOOD, 5:45

RETURNING ALL-CONFERENCE

Boys:None Girls: None

PLAYERS

ALL-CONFERENCE GRADUATES

Boys: None Girls: Lexi Engler, Shania St. Germaine

STORYLINE

take some heat off Tarrin because teams are going to have to guard Alex instead of having their No. 1 always on Tarrin. If they play a zone on us like last year, if we swing the ball from Tarrin to Alex, they both have the green light to shoot the 3."

Schmidt is also a great ballhandler who plays good defense.

St. Germaine averaged in double figures.

"He can see the floor well, he can shoot the 3, drive to the hole,

good defensive player," Miller said.

Senior James Reichard (6-0) was honorable mention in the conference last year.

"He's got good post moves," Miller said. "He's a lefty, which is awesome. He can shoot the 3.

After the seniors left last year, he's really the guy that keeps the team together, team captain."

Senior Kyle Lukes (5-10) does the dirty work, diving for loose balls, getting rebounds and

guarding one of the top players.

Junior Jake Hill (6-2) is new to Mercer and he brings the Tigers some height.

Junior Johnny Cassiani (5-10) started last year at guard.

"He can shoot from the outside, decent ballhandler," Miller said. "It's going to be a fight just about every pregame who's going to be making the right decisions to know who's starting."

Sophomore Avery Brandt (6-0) will be a backup in the post and

sophomore Aaron Luse (5-10) will be a backup guard. Freshman Christian Woolf (5-8) is a lefty who has learned quickly.

Mercer won't have much depth; having enough kids for a JV team is a couple years away.

It certainly didn't help the Tigers when the WIAA added four minutes to games this year.

"We have nine kids out and we have 15 boys in the school," he said. "Everybody we play against has a bench."

is another tri-captain and Pelissero sees her being used for her rebounding, defense and size and presence should intimidate opposing shooters coming into the paint.

Madeline Gabka is a 5-4 senior guard who didn’t play basketball in her junior year, but Pelissero is glad to have her back out, because she has quickness and aggressiveness.

“Emily Matonich (5-7, sophomore) will be one of our bench support players,” Pelissero said.

“She should give us good minutes, including scoring.”

Pelissero said Karli Trcka (59, sophomore) has a good shot like her older sister, Whitney, who is now playing at Gogebic Community College. He expects good minutes and points from Trcka.

Pelissero said he’s expecting Caitlin Lynch (6-0, sophomore) to give the Speedgirls the same things as Mazanec does— defense, match-up problems and some scoring.

Lynch also picked up her game as the volleyball season progressed.

Tia Webber (5-11, junior) did not play last season but will get minutes in games this year.

Bessemer will be competing in the Porcupine Mountain Division of the new Copper Mountain Conference this year and Pelissero has some definite expectations for the Speedgirls.

“We want to get better every day and stay healthy,” he said.

“If we can average about 46-52 points per game, I think we can win a lot of games and have a successful season.

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Boys: The Tigers were better last year than they had been in several years and they expect to be even better this year.

Girls: Mercer lost most of its offensive production to graduation, but the Tigers will still be a team to contend with in the Indianhead Conference.

“We were 11-10 last year and lost to Crystal Falls (Forest Park) in the district tournament.

We would like to compete in the conference and even win it if we can peak by tournament time.

And then compete on the district level.”

Alex Metas will be the junior varsity and varsity asistant coach.

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HOOPS

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2015

THE DAILY GLOBE • YOURDAILYGLOBE.COM

Very young Nimrod boys dedicate season to Ellenberger

By JASON JUNO sports@yourdailyglobe.com

WATERSMEET — The Watersmeet Nimrods don’t have a single senior on the roster for the 2015-16 season, one they are dedicating to a former assistant coach.

Six of the eight players on last year’s team were seniors.

“The weakness of the squad this season will be senior leadership,” Watersmeet coach George Peterson III said. “As the year progresses, I will look for our juniors to take on this challenge.”

The Nimrods are dedicating the season to Norm Ellenberger, an assistant for the boys team at times over the years and the girls coach here the past four seasons.

He died in November.

Height will be a concern for this year’s team, but like Ellenberger did, they’re looking to find other ways to be successful.

“We are going to look for ways to make up for this weakness through hard work and 100 percent effort at all times,” Peterson said. “We learned through Norm that there are many ways to skin a cat. We are dedicating this season to our favorite coach, Coach Norm.”

Peterson said he is looking forward to working with this year’s team.

“Our strengths will be a few

talented role players and a few hard-nosed inside and outside people,” he said. “If we play together as a team, we will improve each game, and who knows, we could surprise some people in March.”

Watersmeet joins the new Copper Mountain Conference, a combination of the Porcupine Mountain and Copper Country conferences. The Nimrods played nearly all of these teams anyway.

“The new conference will be exciting,” Peterson said. “We are looking forward to this new format and hope to challenge our opposition each and every night.

This will go right along with our goal to be a contender for the conference title.”

The only returning Nimrods are juniors Rondell McKinney (61, swingman) and Ethan McGeshick (5-8, guard).

“I believe we have one of the better players in the area in Rondell McKinney,” Peterson said.

“When he is on, he is tough to hold down. Ethan McGeshick is another spark plug we have on this year’s team. With his quickness, he should be a force on both ends of the floor.”

Junior Trace Gagnon is a center/forward at 5-11.

“Trace Gagnon should be a pleasant surprise for our fans,” Peterson said. “He has worked

Submitted photo

THE 20115-16 Watersmeet Nimrods are from left, first row: Manager Mitchell McGeshick and coach George Peterson III; second row: Ethan McGeshick, Jason McKinney, Rondell McKinney, David McGeshick, Keaton Caudtill, Ben Winkka and Trace Gagnon. hard at his game and should have a successful season.”

Watersmeet’s tallest player is sophomore David McGeshick.

“He will be a threat inside and outside on offense and should be a force on the boards,” Peterson said.

Junior Keaton Caudill is also a center at 6-1.

“Keaton Caudill will be our

strength inside when it comes to needing a rebound or a defensive stop. He will be our Dennis Rodman,” Peterson said.

Ben Winkka (5-10) is one of only two Watermeet freshmen.

“He has a ton of talent and we are looking to him to step up big time right from the get go,” Peterson said.

Jason McKinney (6-0) is

Watersmeet’s other freshman.

He and junior Gerald Dick (5-9) are new to Watersmeet.

“Jason is another pleasant surprise,” Peterson said. “He has tremendous ability and is a very hard working young man who will see plenty of court time. Gerald is a ball of fire who we need to play some superb defense at all times.”

Besonen takes over young Watersmeet girls team

By PAT KRAUSE

sports@yourdailyglobe.com

WATERSMEET – Watersmeet girls basketball coach Brent Besonen takes over for a legend, Stormin’ Norman Ellenberger, who died last month.

“That was a huge loss,” Besonen said.

“Not only to me but to our school and community. He loved coaching here and the kids loved him.

“I’ve known him for quite a few years and had the pleasure of working with him for a year as his assistant. We shared a lot of ideas on how to play defense and how to attack on offense, which has really helped to make the transition easier.

“Norm was a great teacher of the game and was always helpful during my career.

He’d sit in during my junior high practices and game and to offer advice, whether I wanted it or not. But that’s the way he was. He never stopped coaching.

“We also lost another iconic figure in local high school sports this year with the passing of boppin’ Bob Peltola. He was always promoting local high school sports.

High school basketball will never sound the same on the radio again.”

But as they say, life goes on and Besonen has stepped into his first head coaching job at the varsity level. So far, things are going good for the Nimrods.

“Right now, I see our main strength is our positivity and our work ethic,” Besonen said. “We have a good group of girls that are willing to work hard. We seem to be building good team chemistry which will be a key to our growth.”

Besonen said the Watersmeet girls have a number of concerns and the first is numbers. Schools (and especially small schools) are constantly fighting the numbers game.

Besonen said Watersmeet has a total of eight girls signed up for basketball and only one junior and senior. And that’s in grades 8-12.

Devils From page 2 Jacquart said. “She’s a good ballhandler, sometimes she goes too fast for her own good.”

Saari did not play basketball last year in Bessemer.

“She’s going to provide some backup to DiGiorgio in the middle,” Jacquart said. “She gives us nice height. We’re working on getting her to be more aggressive and catch up.”

Lauren Guather (5-5) is a sophomore who played

WA T E R S M E E T NIMRODS BOYS

GIRLS

Submitted photo

The 2015-16 Watersmeet Nimrods are from left, first row: Manager Mercedes Albaugh and coach Brent Besonen; second row: Rebecca Caron, Ashley Erickson, Bethany Baldwin, Sierra Griffin, Trysta Williams, Katey Grosso, Isabella Garrison and Hailey Pallin.

“We are almost a JV team,” Besonen said. “There is nothing I hate more than the term “rebuilding year” in high school sports because every year is a rebuilding year. Right now, we are trying to build a program from the ground up.”

The eight Nimrods include: Sierra Griffin (5-3, senior) is a versatile player. She can shoot the ball from the outside, drive and not be afraid to get into the paint to score. She has good quickness on defense, so Besonen is expecting her to have a good year.

Besonen said Bethany Baldwin (5-4, sophomore) is a gamer. She is aggressive on offense and knows how to dribble drive to the basket. She is also an asset on

on the varsity team last season. She’s going to play more forward than last season because the Devils have so many guards.

“She has a really good looking shot,” Jacquart said. “I’m looking for her to learn the post a little more than she’s used to playing. She has a good outside shot and she’s been rebounding and posting up better in practice.”

The Class C District 96 tournament will be at Hancock with L’Anse and defending state champion Calumet also taking part.

“We’ll go up to Hancock and see some teams we

haven’t seen at all,” Jacquart said. “It’s going to be new for me coaching and traveling west. I’m used to the West-PAC. We’re not playing any of those teams until we get to districts, so that’ll be a little difficult. I’m excited to coach in the Indianhead Conference and start seeing new teams.

“I’ve missed coaching.

I’m excited to be doing it again. This group has a lot of potential, so it’s my job to get the most out of it.”

Jacquart coached Ironwood for two years previously. Lisa Graham will assist Jacquart.

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defense, because she has a good sense of where to be to make a play.”

“Rebecca Caron (5-8, sophomore) is a solid player. She is my silent leader. She’s smart and her height will be a tool for us to utilize in the middle, such as for rebounding. Rebecca can also play on the outside because she knows how to get open.”

Isabella Garrison (5-6, freshman) is very young, but Besonen believes she will be a solid guard for the Nimrods. She can handle the ball and run the offense, which allows Besonen to move players around.

She is an excellent teammate who is always positive with her teammates.

Besonen said Katey Grasso (5-2, fresh-

Cardinals From page 5

(small forward) or 4 spot (big forward) on offense.

She picked up her play on the junior varsity last year. She is a decent shooter who runs the floor well.

Breanna Dalbec (5-5, senior) is recovering from an injury and has not been cleared to practice yet. Mahler is hoping she can start practicing fairly soon, because he is expecting more from her this year.

Mahler said Kirsten

man) got started late but is now “progressing nicely.” Her outside shooting has improved and she will be an offensive contributor and a good defender.

Trysta Williams (5-4, junior) has a great basketball attitude and always works hard. Besonen feels she will develop into a go-to shooter soon.

Besonen said Ashley Erickson (5-5, sophomore) should be a contributor from the post and come up with big rebounds and put-backs for Watersmeet.

Hailey Pallin is only in eighth grade, but Besonen said she will be asked to step

Heil (5-8, junior) moved up to the varsity last year around the fifth or sixth game and played well in the post. She will see more playing time this year and Mahler is expecting her contributions to the team will increase.

Elizabeth Makela (51, Jr.) is a shooting guard and dribble-drives well to the basket well.

She will play a lot as Mahler expects all the team members will see a lot of action.

Nicole Ribich will be an assistant coach with Mahler.

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page 10

SCHEDULE

Dec. 7, at Chassell, 6:20 Dec. 10, LAKE LINDEN-HUBBELL, 6:20 Dec. 14, at Baraga, 6:20 Jan. 5, CRYSTAL FALLS FOREST PARK, 6:30 Jan. 7, ONTONAGON, 6:20 Jan. 12, DOLLAR BAY, 6:20 Jan. 14, at Ewen-Trout Creek, 6:20 Jan. 18, MERCER, 6:30 Jan. 21, at Bessemer, 6:30 Jan. 25, PHELPS, 7 Jan. 26, REPUBLIC-MICHIGAMME, 6:20 Feb. 4, at Dollar Bay, 6:20 Feb. 9, at Phelps, 6:30 Feb. 12, BESSEMER, 6:30 Feb. 16, JEFFERS, 6:20 Feb. 19, at Wakefield-Marenisco, 6:30 Feb. 23, EWEN-TROUT CREEK, 6:20 Feb. 26, BARAGA, 6:20 March 1, at Ontonagon, 6:20 March 3, WAKEFIELD-MARENISCO, 6:30 SCHEDULE

(0-1)

Dec. 1, JEFFERS (loss, 69-38) Dec. 4, at Ontonagon, 6:20 Dec. 8, at Lake Linden-Hubbell, 6:20 Dec. 11, WAKEFIELD-MARENISCO, 6 Dec. 15, at Bessemer, 6:30 Jan. 8, BARAGA, 6 Jan. 14, DOLLAR BAY, 6 Jan. 18, MERCER, 5 Jan. 19, BESSEMER, 6 Jan. 21, at Republic-Michigamme, 6:30 Jan. 25, PHELPS, 5:30 Jan. 28, at Chassell, 6:20 Feb. 4, ONTONAGON, 6 Feb. 6, REPUBLIC-MICHIGAMME, 1:30 Feb. 9, at Phelps, 6:30 Feb. 11, EWEN-TROUT CREEK, 6 Feb. 15, at Dollar Bay, 6:20 Feb. 18, CHASSELL, 6 Feb. 23, at Wakefield-Marenisco, 6:30 Feb. 26, at Ewen-Trout Creek, 6:30

RETURNING ALL-CONFERENCE PLAYERS

Boys: None Girls: Bethany Baldwin

ALL-CONFERENCE GRADUATES

Boys: Ryan Bain, Kevin Stevens Girls: Frannie Zelinski.

STORYLINE

Boys: Six of the eight players from last year were seniors and the Nimrods face a bit of a rebuild.

G i r l s : Watersmeet is led by new coach Brent Besonen, who has some talent but not a junior varsity team.

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THE DAILY GLOBE • YOURDAILYGLOBE.COM

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2015

9

Gladiators aim for repeat of district championship How the Copper Mountain Conference will work

Divisions: Teams will play division opponents twice, other teams once.

If a team plays a team in the other division twice, the second meeting counts for the conference standings. For example, Dollar Bay’s win in Tuesday’s girls game wasn’t a conference contest because they play again on Jan. 5 in Dollar Bay. Copper Country: Jeffers, Dollar Bay, Chassell, Republic-Michigamme, Lake Linden-Hubbell, Baraga. Porcupine Mountain: Ontonagon, Bessemer, Wakefield-Marenisco, Watersmeet, Ewen-Trout Creek.

Championships: Each division will crown a champion and there will be an overall champion.

All-conference: A first and second team for each division and elite all-conference team from the divisions’ first teams. There will be a Edward Helakoski MVP award (the winner no longer has to be a senior as he or she did in the old PMC) and a Defensive Player of the Year.

By JASON JUNO

sports@yourdailyglobe.com

ONTONAGON — Seven players return from Ontonagon’s MHSAA Class D District 128 championship team.

“We’re going to be probably as experienced as we’ve been in a number of years,” said Ontonagon coach Dick Franti, who was inducted into the U.P. Sports Hall of Fame in the offseason.

The Gladiators finished the regular season at .500, 10-10, and were fifth in the Copper Country Conference. In the district tournament, Ontonagon started with a win over fourth-place Lake Linden-Hubbell, beat Baraga, which tied for second, in the semifinal, and then won the district title with an upset win over conference champion Jeffers.

“I expect us to be competitive, but whether we can build on the end of the year or not, whether it’s another up-and-down season, I think is going to depend on whether they really put their minds to it and focus,” Franti said.

“We spent much of last season going up and down on a roller coaster. We need to be more consistent.”

The other big concern for Ontonagon is probably its lack of bigs. While only two players graduated, what little height the Gladiators had also graduated.

“We have to contend with that every time we go on the floor,” Franti said. “It’s going to have to be a team thing in terms of dealing with other teams’ size.”

So, be aggressive, Franti said.

“We’ll certainly have to be aggressive,” he said. “If we’re going to sit back and be passive,

Jan Tucker/Daily Globe

THE 2015-16 Ontonagon Gladiators are from left, first row: Alyssa Preiss, Logan Preiss, Hope Pintar and Kessy Domitrovich; second row: Taylor Saari, Tessa Cleary, Kaili Weiner, Lori Wardynski and Paige Blake. teams that are a lot bigger or a lot more aggressive are going to beat us. We’re going to have to get after it.”

Improving on its offensive output from a year ago will also be important.

“In addition to the lack of size and therefore rebounding issues, we have to put the ball in the hole,” Franti said. “If we do that, we can be competitive.”

Having so many players returning from a championship team certainly gives Ontonagon an edge.

“I think experience is the first thing,” Franti said. “We’ve been through some of those wars, especially come tournament time.

They were really focused and into it at that time. Hopefully that car-

ries over. They’re a competitive group. They like to get in there and battle. We have to be able to overcome some of those disadvantages we have. Focus is a huge word of ours. If we can focus on what we’re doing and the task at hand instead of thinking of other things and what’s ahead, we’ll be alright. If we get lost in the fog of thinking about other things, then it could be another roller coaster ride.”

Franti doesn’t know exactly what to expect in the first year of the Copper Mountain Conference, which combined the Porcupine Mountain and Copper Country conferences.

Ontonagon was in the CCC and will now only play those teams once because they are in the other

division. For teams in its division, the Porcupine Mountain division, the Gladiators typically played Watersmeet and Ewen-Trout Creek — they just weren’t conference games — they have scrimmaged Bessemer recently and found they have good size, but they haven’t played WakefieldMarenisco for many years.

Fourteen of the 20 games are conference contests.

“You can’t take very many nights off or all of a sudden, you’ll find yourself behind the 8-ball in the conference,” Franti said. “I hope we’re in the mix.”

Ontonagon will get an early indication with Watersmeet coming to town Friday to tip off the season and Wakefield-Marenisco also heading north on Dec. 8. The

Cardinals won the PMC last year.

The Gladiators return All-CCC First Teamer Lori Wardynski (57), a senior, who scored the final nine points and the game winner at the buzzer in the district final win over Jeffers last year. She led the Gladiators offensively last season.

Senior Paige Blake (5-5) was honorable mention in the conference.

The other four seniors, all returning, are: Hope Pintar (5-5), Logan Preiss (5-4), Alyssa Preiss (5-4) and Tessa Cleary (5-8).

The lone returning junior is Taylor Saari (5-6). Three new juniors are Kaili Weiner (5-8), Samantha Lutz (5-3) and Kessy Domitrovich (5-4).

“They better play together, plain and simple,” Franti said.

“Lori, Hope and Paige are going to have to be at the forefront.”

Opponents’ game plans are likely to be centered on Wardynski.

“Everybody’s going to have to help to be successful. We’re not a one-man show. If we are, we’re going to be in trouble,” Franti said.

Ontonagon boys seek to compete in Copper Mountain Conference

By PAT KRAUSE

sports@yourdailyglobe.com

ONTONAGON – New Ontonagon boys basketball coach Kurt Lehmann may not have a lot of experience in coaching, but the Gladiators seem to have no way to go but up after posting a 1-20 record in the 2014-15 season.

“We started off the year with a win against Ewen and lost from there on out and lost in the first round of the districts,” Lehmann said.

This will be Lehmann’s first year ever in coaching, but he has coached at basketball camps for junior high boys. He will also get the help and support of assistant coach Andy Borseth, who has coached junior high basketball in Ontonagon for five years and has played a lot of basketball in his life.

Lehmann admits things have gotten off to kind of a slow start in Ontonagon.

“It is difficult getting the kids to understand exactly what I mean when I am using new or different words in practice than they are used to or what their old coach may have said a little differently,” Lehmann said.

“They’re trying to learn all new offenses, defenses and every play is new along with a lot of drills they’ve never seen. Once they begin to recognize what I mean and begin to understand what each drill is, then we will be able to move a little faster.”

Lehmann said Ontonagon will not be without its strengths. The

SCHEDULE

GIRLS

SCHEDULE

All Times Eastern Dec. 7, at Ewen-Trout Creek, 7:30 Dec. 10, at Republic-Michigamme, 7:30 Dec. 17, DOLLAR BAY, 7:20 Dec. 21, at Calumet, 7:20 Jan. 4, BESSEMER, 7:20 Jan. 7, at Watersmeet, 7:20 Jan. 11, CALUMET, 7:20 Jan. 14, WAKEFIELD-MARENISCO, 7:20 Jan. 18, at Lake Linden-Hubbell, 7:20 Jan. 21, JEFFERS, 7:20 Jan. 26, HOUGHTON, 7:20 Feb. 2, EWEN-TROUT CREEK, 7:20 Feb. 5, at Wakefield-Marenisco, 7:20 Feb. 12, at Dollar Bay, 7:20 Feb. 16, CHASSELL, 7:20 Feb. 19, HANCOCK, 7:20 Feb. 23, at L’Anse, 7:20 Feb. 26, at Bessemer, 7:30 March 1, WATERSMEET, 7:20 March 3, at Baraga, 7:20 All Times Eastern Dec. 4, WATERSMEET, 7:20 Dec. 8, WAKEFIELD-MARENISCO, 7:20 Dec. 11, at Baraga, 7:20 Dec. 15, LAKE LINDEN-HUBBELL, 7:20 Dec. 18, DOLLAR BAY, 7:20 Jan. 5, at Chassell, 7:20 Jan. 8, at Jeffers, 7:20 Jan. 12, at Calumet, 7:20 Jan. 15, EWEN-TROUT CREEK, 7:20 Jan. 19, at Hancock, 7:20 Jan. 22, at Bessemer, 7:30 Jan. 25, L’ANSE, 7:20 Jan. 28, at Wakefield-Marenisco, 7 Feb. 1, REPUBLIC-MICHIGAMME, 7:20 Feb. 4, at Watersmeet, 7:30 Feb. 8, at Ewen-Trout Creek, 7:30 Feb. 11, HOUGHTON, 7:20 Feb. 18, BESSEMER, 7:20 Feb. 22, CHASSELL, 7:20 Feb. 25, IRONWOOD, 7:20 PLAYERS

Boys: Taylor Beaudry Girls: Lori Wardynski

ALL-CONFERENCE GRADUATES

Boys: None Girls: None

STORYLINE

Boys: The Gladiators have a new coach in Kurt Lehmann and could be a sleeper in the Copper Mountain Conference.

Girls: The Gladiators look to defend their Class D District 128 title with an experienced group that lacks size.

Jan Tucker/Daily Globe

THE 2015-16 Ontonagon Gladiators are from left, first row: Jaden Weisinger, Dustin Goward, Taylor Beaudry, Seth Binns and Nathan Ashbrook; second row: manager Tony Picotte, Tanner Balcomb, Lucas Dean, Colton Heikkinen, James Domitrovich, Eddy Polakowski, Mitch Borseth and coach Kurt Lehmann.

Gladiators should be big with a lot of depth in the post and have players who can shoot from the perimeter. Lehmann said this should force defenses into a quandry on how they want to play Ontonagon’s offense.

“Taylor Beaudry and Mitch Borseth should be the leaders offensively as they are the only players that have been on varsity for more than two years,” Lehmann said. “We have a lot of

From page 4 Josh McGeshick is a true post presence who can play facing or with his back to the basket. He’s also a good passer.

Matrella said Jason Turula is a hard-working player who gets after it.

He works to get after loose balls and rebounds. He is also a good defender

young players that will step up and continue to progress as they understand the speed at the varsity level.”

Lehmann said Lucas Dean has been working hard in practice and that it was good to see Dean progressing. He said Jaden Weisinger should be a very good defensive player and as the season goes on, Lehmann thought he will progress in many ways.

Lehmann said the Gladiators

who guards the basket with tremendous effort. Turula is a good passer and also seems to be in the right place on the court.

Sophomores: Jared Janczak is a versatile guard/wing player, according to Matrella. He handles the ball very well and has a good outside shot.

He plays good defense and rebounds well. His best attribute is his ability to create offense for others.

Matrella said T.J. Mazurek is a guard who passes well and is very unselfish with the ball. He works

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have their concerns as the season grows closer and he is especially worried about youth and leadership.

“We are a very young team with only two seniors, so leadership has been difficult in all areas so far,” Lehmann said.

With all the question marks, Lehmann is still hoping for a good year.

“I really haven’t been able to see a ton of teams in our league,

hard and is always in the right place for the team.

Brayden Tomes is a versatile wing player. He is a true slasher who can go to the basket. He works extremely hard on defense and rebounds well.

Freshman: Matrella said Cade Mazzon is an extremely quick and efficient ball handler who really shares the ball well.

He gets the ball to players who are in position to score. He will be an upand-coming player.

Cardinals From page 5 and plays all out and can knock down the outside shot.

Fetters said Scott LaRock (5-8, Jr.) has a quick first step to the basket and can attack the basket or create a shot for a teammate. He is quick and fast and a good defender.

Fetters hadn’t seen much of Dillon Berg (5-10, Jr.) because he transferred from

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so it’s tough for me to judge how we are going to end up,” Lehmann said. “I think we have talent and as long as they continue to buy into the system that we’re teaching, I think we’ll be successful. I just want them to play hard and play sound basketball and I think that will carry over to the court when playing in games.”

Lehmann thinks Ewen-Trout Creek will be the favorite in the

new Copper Mountain Conference, because they are a team that is very well-coached and they have some young players that have been working hard and doing some good things. He thinks the Panthers will be disciplined, so Ontonagon must play sound basketball and good decision-making will be important.

Ontonagon’s first game is against E-TC on Dec. 7.

Ironwood. But Fetters likes his speed and athleticism.

Fetters said the Cardinals would like to win the new Copper Mountain Conference Division they will play in and also make a good tournament run.

“We want the kids to have a successful season and to have fun,” he said. “That’s the ultimate goal.”

Pat Libertoski will once again be Fetters’ JV and assistant varsity coach.

W-M travels to Republic-Michigamme for its first game on Dec. 7.

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TOURNAMENT SCHEDULES

WIAA Postseason

Division 4 half-bracket teams: Abbotsford, Cameron, Chequamegon, ChetekWeyerhauser, Colby, Cumberland, Grantsburg, Hurley, Ladysmith, Phillips, Saint Croix Falls, Unity, Webster.

Division 5 half-bracket teams: Bayfield, Birchwood, Butternut, Drummond, Frederic, Lac Courte Oreilles (boys only), Luck, Mellen, Mercer, Northwood, Shell Lake, Siren, Solon Springs, South Shore, Washburn, Winter.

Girls Regionals: Feb. 23, 26, 27 Sectionals: March 3, 5 State: March 10, 11, 12

Boys Regionals: March 1, 4, 5 Sectionals: March 10, 12 State: March 17-19

MHSAA Postseason

Girls Districts: Feb. 29, March 2, March 4 Class C District 96 at Hancock: Calumet, Hancock, Ironwood, L’Anse Class D District 127 at Ewen-Trout Creek: Bessemer, Crystal Falls Forest Park, Ewen-Trout Creek, RepublicMichigamme, Wakefield-Marenisco, Watersmeet Class D District 128 at Ontonagon: Baraga, Chassell, Dollar Bay, Lake Linden-

Class D District 127 at Watersmeet: Bessemer, Crystal Falls Forest Park, EwenTrout Creek, Republic-Michigamme, Wakefield-Marenisco, Watersmeet Class D District 128 at Lake LindenHubbell: Baraga, Chassell, Dollar Bay, Lake Linden-Hubbell, Ontonagon, Jeffers Regionals: March 14, March 16 Class C at Escanaba Class D at Negaunee Quarterfinals: March 22 Class C at Petoskey Class D at Escanaba or Sault Ste. Marie At Breslin Center, East Lansing Semifinals: March 24 (Class C and Class D). Finals: March 26

Hubbell, Ontonagon, Jeffers Regionals: March 8, March 10 Class C at Marquette Class D at Kingsford Quarterfinals: March 15 Class C at Gaylord Class D at Negaunee or Sault Ste. Marie At Breslin Center, East Lansing Semifinals: March 17 (Class C and Class D) Finals: March 19 Boys MHSAA Postseason Schedule Districts: March 7, 9, 11 Class C District 96 at Hancock: Calumet, Hancock, Ironwood, L’Anse

LAST YEAR PMC boys Conf Overall Bessemer 5-1 16-7 Ewen-TC 4-2 9-12 3-3 12-10 W-M Watersmeet 0-6 11-10 PMC girls Conf Overall W-M 6-0 19-4 8-8 11-10 Bessemer Watersmeet 3-3 10-10 E-TC 0-6 1-19 CCC girls Conf Jeffers 9-3 13-9 Baraga 8-4 12-7 Dollar Bay 8-4 12-8 Lake Linden 7-5 8-13 Ontonagon 6-6 13-11 Chassell 4-8 6-15 Republic 0-12 2-19 CCC boys Conf Overall 23-1 Lake Linden 12-0 Republic 10-2 16-5

Baraga 7-5 11-10 Jeffers 6-6 11-12 Chassell 5-7 8-14 Dollar Bay 2-10 2-19 0-12 1-20 Ontonagon West-PAC boys Conf Overall Houghton 8-0 12-9 Calumet 5-3 13-9 4-4 10-10 L’Anse Hancock 2-6 7-14 West Iron 1-7 2-19 West-PAC girls Conf Houghton 8-0 19-6 Calumet 6-2 24-2 Hancock 4-4 15-7 West Iron 2-6 4-17 L’Anse 0-8 6-15 Indianhead East Boys Conf Overall Ironwood 14-2 19-4 Hurley 12-4 15-10 11-5 16-7 Bessemer W-M 8-8 12-10

Mellen 1-15 1-22 Last year's champions Boys Porcupine Mountain Conference: Bessemer CCC: Lake Linden-Hubbell Indianhead East: Ironwood Indianhead West: Washburn Class C District 96: Ironwood Class D District 127: Crystal Falls Forest Park Class D District 128: Lake Linden-Hubbell Girls Porcupine Mountain Conference: Wakefield-Marenisco Copper Country Conference: Jeffers Indianhead East: W-M, Hurley Indianhead West: South Shore Class C District 96: Calumet Class D District 127: Crystal Falls Forest Park Class D D-128: Ontonagon

Mercer 2-14 6-17 Butternut 0-16 1-22 Indianhead West Boys Conf Overall 16-0 25-3 Washburn Solon Springs 10-6 14-9 South Shore 8-8 13-12 Mellen 6-10 10-14 Drummond 5-11 8-16 4-12 6-15 Bayfield Indianhead East Girls Conf Overall W-M 13-3 19-4 Hurley 13-3 17-6 Mercer 12-4 16-8 Bessemer 8-8 11-10 Ironwood 6-10 7-14 Butternut 2-14 3-20 Indianhead West Girls Conf Overall South Shore 16-0 25-3 Bayfield 11-5 15-9 Solon Springs 6-10 7-16 6-10 7-16 Drummond Washburn 2-14 2-21

C O N F E R E N C E F AV O R I T E S

Boys Indianhead: Washburn, Hurley, Solon Springs.

Copper Mountain: Ewen-Trout Creek, Lake LindenHubbell, Dollar Bay.

Nimrods From page 8

in at times and she will be ready.

Besonen said the primary goal for Watersmeet this year will to become a better defensive team.

“We have a lot of work to do

Midgets From page 3 matchup). Being there, seeing what your matchups are, that’s huge. But everybody has to do this.”

The Indianhead Conference is back to a single conference without the East and West Divisions of the last few years. Everyone will play each other twice; Hurley, though, will only play Ironwood once.

Washburn lost MinnesotaDuluth player Cody Tomlinson, but return UMD recruit Brant Schick.

“I still think the title has to go through Washburn,” Swartz said. “Brant put in a lot of time.

He’s going to be a player to be reckoned with. They have some guards. They lost their fair share, but I think they’re going to be tough to beat.”

Young Drummond returns a lot and Swartz trusts coach Josh Hanson will have them ready to play. He also pointed out Solon Springs.

Hurley could also be a factor.

“I do see us being one of the top teams,” Swartz said. “One of our goals is to compete for a conference championship. I know we have the talent. We have kids who played a ton of minutes last year who are much improved. I hope we can definitely contend for one, but our focus is day-byday, improving every day we step on the court.”

Hurley will look to take care of the ball; it went from averaging 20-plus turnovers early last year to having several games with fewer than 10 late in the year.

The Midgets will look to run, but only when the opportunity is there.

“We’re really going to hang our hat on defense,” Swartz said.

“We’re going to attack the rim a lot, get to the free throw line a lot, hopefully make them and win some games.”

Girls Indianhead: Bayfield, South Shore, Hurley, Ironwood, Mercer, Solon Springs Copper Mountain: Wakefield-Marenisco, Ontonagon, Jeffers, Dollar Bay.

with our footwork and seeing plays develop, but that comes from our age,” Besonen said. “I want us to push the ball down the floor a little faster than these girls have in the past and be a better transition team. If we can do these two things and play good offense, we should be OK. “Our big picture goal is to be

able to compete with the big dogs. When you start freshmen and sophomores against seniors, you are at a huge disadvantage. I know Ontonagon and WakefieldMarenisco will be tough, because they have a core of seniors returning.”

Watersmeet hosts Jeffers on Dec. 1 at 6 p.m.

The Midgets’ post play will be important.

“We’ve got some nice post players that definitely need to see touches,” Swartz said.

Sukanen (6-6) averaged 20.7 points and 10.5 rebounds per game and he is teamed with junior Tandrell Foster (6-2), who came on strong late last season and put in time this summer.

Giving them a blow inside will be senior Chris Rye (6-2).

Sukanen is fully recovered from a shoulder injury that ended his football season after week three, Swartz said.

“He had a huge year for us,” Swartz said. “We’re really going to count on (Sukanen and Foster), get them touches inside and hopefully we’ll have success there.”

Defenses are going to focus on Sukanen and it’s Foster’s job to take advantage of that.

“I think Tandrell is going to be the benefactor of some of the double teams James sees,” Swartz said. “He can hit an outside shot, he can put it on the deck and attack the rim. With his size, he’s a tough matchup if he can get you out in space and attack the rim.”

He doesn’t expect much of a letdown when Rye goes in for one of them.

“Outstanding worker, he improved over the summer and had some nice games offensively in summer league,” Swartz said.

Senior Jake Saari (6-2) doesn’t lose many battles for 50-50 balls.

He’ll likely be a three out on the wing and he’ll handle the ball a little more.

“I love his work ethic, just a tough, hard-nosed kid,” Swartz said. “He’s a fabulous defender who can guard the post, the perimeter, great rebounder. He’s a kid who won’t make a mistake.”

Senior Kohl Manzanares (5-7) doesn’t let his small stature get in the way.

“I really think he plays like he’s 6 feet tall,” Swartz said.

“He’s a tough, gritty player, a really hard-nosed competitor.

He’s going to be counted on to handle the ball. I just love his defense. He’s very active on defense. Some of the better players in the conference had tough nights last year against him.

“He’ll slide in and take a charge on a 6-4 kid. I just love that about him. I just love his effort and his attitude.”

Other juniors include: Josh Quello (5-8), Kris Bluse (6-1) and Dante Bender (6-2). Quello is a great on-the-ball defender. Bluse is as fast as they come and he has length.

“I really see him having a role in our trapping game, half-court trap and getting some minutes that way,” Swartz said.

Bender, a lefty, is long and can be an asset in the trap.

“He can put it on the deck and dribble a little bit. He can shoot, he has a nice post-up game as well,” Swartz said.

Isaac DeCarlo (5-9) is the only sophomore. Swartz said he added about 15 pounds of muscle working in the weight room over the summer and as a result, he held up from a demanding running quarterback position for the Midgets. He’ll handle the ball, does well in transition, has speed and is quick.

“He’s another kid who grew up in football,” Swartz said. “He kind of got thrown in the quarterback position and handled it quite well. Same with basketball, we’re going to count on him to handle the ball a lot and make plays for us.”

Freshman Carson Thewis (510) is a transfer student from Mellen and has a great understanding of the game.

“He’s played a lot of basketball,” Swartz said. “He’s learning a lot right now, how we do things. I love how he catches on, very smart, hard worker. He’s a great outside shooter. He’s really working hard on handling the ball.”

Assistant coaches are Steve Lombardo, Jay Aijala and Jared Wendt.

ON

THE COVER

IRONWOOD’S KACIE LUNDIN

LOOKS FOR A DRIVING LANE DURING A PRESEASON SCRIMMAGE AT JOHN KRZNARICH GYM IN IRONWOOD.

JASON JUNO/DAILY GLOBE

PHOTO

THE DAILY GLOBE • YOURDAILYGLOBE.COM

AREA BASKETBALL SCHEDULE

All Times CST unless otherwise noted Thursday, Dec. 3 Boys basketball Phillips at Hurley, 7:15 Girls basketball Baraga at Ewen-Trout Creek, 7:30 EST Friday, Dec. 4 Girls basketball Washburn at Hurley, 7:15 Bessemer at Wakefield-Marenisco, 6:30 Watersmeet at Ontonagon, 7:20 EST South Shore at Ironwood, 7:15 Bayfield at Mercer, 5:45 Boys basketball Bayfield at Mercer, 7:15 Monday, Dec. 7 Boys basketball Hurley at South Shore, 7:15 Watersmeet at Chassell, 6:20 Wakefield-Marenisco at Republic, 6:30 Bessemer at Jeffers, 6:20 Ironwood at Solon Springs, 7:15 Ontonagon at Ewen-Trout Creek, 7:30 EST Tuesday, Dec. 8 Girls basketball Hurley at Butternut, 7 Wakefield-Marenisco at Ontonagon, 7:20 EST Watersmeet at Lake Linden-Hubbell, 6:20 Ironwood at Washburn, 7:15 Hancock at Bessemer, 6:20 Winter at Mercer, 5:45 Ewen-Trout Creek at Chassell, 7:20 EST Boys basketball Winter at Mercer, 7:15 Wednesday, Dec. 9 College basketball Mesabi Range at GCC, women, 5; men, 7 Thursday, Dec. 10 Boys basketball Washburn at Hurley, 7:15 Lake Linden-Hubbell at Watersmeet, 6:20 Bessemer at Wakefield-Marenisco, 6:30 South Shore at Ironwood, 7:15 Ontonagon at Republic-Michigamme, 7:20 EST Ewen-Trout Creek at Hancock, 7:20 EST Friday, Dec. 11 Girls basketball Drummond at Hurley, 7:15 Wakefield-Marenisco at Watersmeet, 6 Butternut at Ironwood, 7:15 Ontonagon at Baraga, 7:20 EST South Shore at Mercer, 5:45 Lake Linden-Hubbell at Ewen-Trout Creek, 7:30 EST Boys basketball South Shore at Mercer, 7:15 College basketball GCC vs. United Tribes at Bismarck N.D., women, 6; men, 8 Saturday, Dec. 12 College basketball GCC vs. Bismarck State at Bismarck N.D., women, 12; men, 2 Monday, Dec. 14 Boys basketball Hurley at Butternut, 7 Watersmeet at Baraga, 6:20 Jeffers at Wakefield-Marenisco, 6:30 Dollar Bay at Bessemer, 6:20 Ironwood at Washburn, 7:15 Mercer at Solon Springs, 7:15 Girls basketball Mercer at Solon Springs, 5:45 Tuesday, Dec. 15 Girls basketball Hurley at Chequamegon, 7:15 Watersmeet at Bessemer, 6:30 Lake Linden-Hubbell at Ontonagon, 7:20 EST LCO at Mercer, 5:45 Ewen-Trout Creek at Republic, 7:30 EST Boys basketball Hurley at Ewen-Trout Creek, 7:30 EST LCO at Mercer, 7:15 Thursday, Dec. 17 Boys basketball Drummond at Hurley, 7:15 Butternut at Ironwood, 7:15 Dollar Bay at Ontonagon, 7:20 EST Friday, Dec. 18 Girls basketball Hurley at Bayfield, 7:15 Wakefield-Marenisco at Crystal Falls Forest Park, 7 Ironwood at Drummond, 7:15 Jeffers at Bessemer, 6:30 Dollar Bay at Ontonagon, 7:20 EST Mercer at Washburn, 5:45 Boys basketball Bessemer at Ewen-Trout Creek, 7:30 EST Mercer at Washburn, 7:15 College basketball GCC at Mesabi, women, 6; men, 8 Saturday, Dec. 19 College basketball GCC vs. Hibbing at Mesabi, women, 12; men, 2 Monday, Dec. 21 Boys basketball Hurley at Bayfield, 7:15 Ironwood at Drummond, 7:15 Ontonagon at Calumet, 7:20 EST Girls basketball Ewen-Trout Creek at L’Anse Tuesday, Dec. 22 Girls basketball Hurley at Ironwood, 7:15 Butternut at Mercer, 7 Monday, Dec. 28 Girls basketball Bessemer at Washburn, 7:15 Saturday, Jan. 2 College basketball GCC at Northland CC Classic, women, 4; men, 6 Sunday, Jan. 3 College basketball GCC at Northland CC Classic, women, 4; men, 6 Monday, Jan. 4 Boys basketball Chequamegon at Hurley, 7:15 Wakefield-Marenisco at Ewen-Trout Creek, 7:30 EST Bessemer at Ontonagon, 7:20 EST Butternut at Mercer, 7 Girls basketball Calumet at Wakefield-Marenisco, 6:30 Tuesday, Jan. 5 Girls basketball Mellen at Hurley, 7:15 Ironwood at Bayfield, 7:15 Bessemer at Dollar Bay, 6:20 Ontonagon at Chassell, 7:20 EST Mercer at Ewen-Trout Creek, 7:30 EST Boys basketball Crystal Falls Forest Park at Watersmeet, 6:30 Wakefield-Marenisco at Three Lakes, 7 Wednesday, Jan. 6 College basketball GCC at UW-Fox Valley, women, 5; men, 7 Thursday, Jan. 7 Boys basketball Mellen at Hurley, 7:15 Ontonagon at Watersmeet, 6:20 Republic at Bessemer, 6:20 Ironwood at Bayfield, 7:15

7

Mercer at Drummond, 7:15 Ewen-Trout Creek at Houghton, 7:30 EST Girls basketball Wakefield-Marenisco at Dollar Bay, 6:20 Mercer at Drummond, 5:45 Friday, Jan. 8 Girls basketball Hurley at Mercer, 7 Baraga at Watersmeet, 6 Ironwood at Mellen, 7:15 Chassell at Bessemer, 6:20 Ontonagon at Jeffers, 7:20 EST Boys basketball Ironwood at Wakefield-Marenisco, 6:30 Saturday, Jan. 9 College basketball UW-Marinette at GCC, women, 1; men, 3 Monday, Jan. 11 Boys basketball Hurley at Mercer, 7 Ironwood at Mellen, 7:15 Calumet at Ontonagon, 7:20 EST Girls basketball Three Lakes at Wakefield-Marenisco, 7 Ewen-Trout Creek at Bessemer, 6:20 Tuesday, Jan. 12 Girls basketball Solon Springs at Hurley, 7:15 Bessemer at Lake Linden-Hubbell, 6:20 Ontonagon at Calumet, 7:20 EST Boys basketball Dollar Bay at Watersmeet, 6:20 Bessemer at Ironwood, 7:15 Wednesday, Jan. 13 College basketball GCC at Dakota County Technical College, men,

Thursday, Jan. 14 Boys basketball Solon Springs at Hurley, 7:15 Watersmeet at Ewen-Trout Creek, 7:20 EST Wakefield-Marenisco at Ontonagon, 7:20 EST Mercer at Ironwood, 7:15 Girls basketball Dollar Bay at Watersmeet, 6 Mercer at Ironwood, 5:45 Friday, Jan. 15 Girls basketball South Shore at Hurley, 7:15 Wakefield-Marenisco at Chassell, 6:20 Solon Springs at Ironwood, 7:15 Bessemer at Baraga, 6:20 Ewen-Trout Creek at Ontonagon, 7:20 EST Boys basketball L’Anse at Ewen-Trout Creek, 7:30 EST College basketball GCC vs. Fox Valley at Marshfield, men, 6 Saturday, Jan. 16 College basketball GCC at UW-Marshfield, men, TBA Monday, Jan. 18 Girls basketball Hurley at Washburn, 7:15 Ewen-Trout Creek at Wakefield-Marenisco, 6:30 Mercer at Watersmeet, 5 Ironwood at South Shore, 7:15 Boys basketball Northwestern at Hurley, 7:15 Mercer at Watersmeet, 6:30 Baraga at Bessemer, 6:20 Ontonagon at Lake Linden-Hubbell, 7:20 EST Tuesday, Jan. 19 Boys basketball South Shore at Hurley, 7:15 Dollar Bay at Wakefield-Marenisco, 6:30 Solon Springs at Ironwood, 7:15 Girls basketball Bessemer at Watersmeet, 6 Ontonagon at Hancock, 7:20 EST Thursday, Jan. 21 Girls basketball Butternut at Hurley, 7 Watersmeet at Republic, 6:30 Washburn at Ironwood, 7:15 Boys basketball Watersmeet at Bessemer, 6:30 Jeffers at Ontonagon, 7:20 EST Chassell at Ewen-Trout Creek, 7:30 EST College basketball United Tribes at GCC, women, 5; men, 7 Friday, Jan. 22 Boys basketball Hurley at Washburn, 7:15 Wakefield-Marenisco at L’Anse, 6:20 Ironwood at South Shore, 7:15 Mercer at Bayfield, 7:15 Republic at Ewen-Trout Creek, 7:30 EST Girls basketball Lake Linden-Hubbell at Wakefield-Marenisco, 6:30 Ontonagon at Bessemer, 6:20 Mercer at Bayfield, 5:45 Monday, Jan. 25 Boys basketball Northland Pines at Hurley, 7:15 Phelps at Watersmeet, 7 Flambeau at Mercer, 7:15 Girls basketball Phelps at Watersmeet, 5:30 Ironwood at Butternut, 7:15 L’Anse at Ontonagon, 7:20 EST Flambeau at Mercer, 5:45 Republic at Ewen-Trout Creek, 7:30 EST College basketball GCC at UW-Marinette, women, 5:30; men, 7:30 Tuesday, Jan. 26 Boys basketball Butternut at Hurley, 7 Republic at Watersmeet, 6:20 Wakefield-Marenisco at Baraga, 6:20 Washburn at Ironwood, 7:15 Houghton at Ontonagon, 7:20 EST Lake Linden-Hubbell at Ewen-Trout Creek, 7:30 EST Girls basketball Wakefield-Marenisco at L’Anse, 6:20 Thursday, Jan. 28 Girls basketball Bayfield at Hurley, 7:15 Ontonagon at Wakefield-Marenisco, 6:30 Watersmeet at Chassell, 6:20 Drummond at Ironwood, 7:15 Bessemer at Ewen-Trout Creek, 7:30 EST Washburn at Mercer, 5:45 Boys basketball Washburn at Mercer, 7:15 Friday, Jan. 29 Boys basketball Bessemer at Chassell, 6:20 Ironwood at Butternut, 7:15 Mercer at South Shore, 7:15 L’Anse at Ewen-Trout Creek, 7:20 EST Girls basketball Mercer at South Shore, 5:45 Saturday, Jan. 30 College basketball GCC at Silver Lake College, women, 3; men, 5 Monday, Feb. 1 Girls basketball Ironwood at Hurley (NC), 7:15 Wakefield-Marenisco at Bessemer, 6:30 Republic at Ontonagon, 7:20 EST Tuesday, Feb. 2 Girls basketball Hurley at Lakeland, 7:15

Boys basketball Bayfield at Hurley, 7:15 Chassell at Wakefield-Marenisco, 6:30 Hancock at Bessemer, 6:20 Drummond at Ironwood, 7:15 Ewen-Trout Creek at Ontonagon, 7:20 EST Wednesday, Feb. 3 College basketball GCC at UWS JV, women, 5; men, 7 Thursday, Feb. 4 Girls basketball Hurley at Mellen, 7:15 Ontonagon at Watersmeet, 6 Bayfield at Ironwood, 7:15 Bessemer at Hancock, 6:20 Dollar Bay at Ewen-Trout Creek, 7:30 EST Boys basketball Watersmeet at Dollar Bay, 6:20 Friday, Feb. 5 Boys basketball Hurley at Ironwood, 7:15 Ontonagon at Wakefield-Marenisco, 6:30 Lake Linden-Hubbell at Bessemer, 6:20 Mercer at Butternut, 7:15 Ewen-Trout Creek at Jeffers, 7:20 EST Girls basketball Mercer at Butternut, 5:45 Saturday, Feb. 6 Girls basketball Republic at Watersmeet, 1:30 Monday, Feb. 8 Girls basketball Mercer at Hurley, 7 Baraga at Wakefield-Marenisco, 6:30 Bessemer at Ironwood, 7:15 Ontonagon at Ewen-Trout Creek, 7:30 EST Boys basketball Ewen-Trout Creek vs. Drummond at Northland College, Ashland, 7:30 EST College basketball GCC at UW-Marathon County, women, 5:30; men, 7:30 Tuesday, Feb. 9 Boys basketball Hurley at Mellen, 7:15 Watersmeet at Phelps, 6:30 Wakefield-Marenisco at Bessemer, 6:30 Bayfield at Ironwood, 7:15 Drummond at Mercer, 7:15 Ewen-Trout Creek at Dollar Bay, 7:20 EST Girls basketball Watersmeet at Phelps, 6:30 Drummond at Mercer, 5:45 Wednesday, Feb. 10 College basketball UWS JV at GCC, women, 5; men, 7 Thursday, Feb. 11 Girls basketball Hurley at Solon Springs, 7:15 Wakefield-Marenisco at Jeffers, 6:20 Ewen-Trout Creek at Watersmeet, 6 Bessemer at Republic, 6:20 Houghton at Ontonagon, 7:20 EST Friday, Feb. 12 Boys basketball Mercer at Hurley, 7 Bessemer at Watersmeet, 6:30 Ontonagon at Dollar Bay, 7:20 EST Saturday, Feb. 13 College basketball Dakota County Technical College at GCC, men, 2 GCC at College of Lake County, women, 1 Sunday, Feb. 14 College basketball GCC at Illinois Central College, women, 1 Monday, Feb. 15 Girls basketball Watersmeet at Dollar Bay, 6:20 Mercer at Phelps, 5:45 Ewen-Trout Creek at Baraga, 7:20 EST Boys basketball Mercer at Phelps, 7:15 Tuesday, Feb. 16 Girls basketball Northwestern at Hurley, 7:15 Ironwood at Wakefield-Marenisco, 6:30 Boys basketball Hurley at Solon Springs, 7:15 Jeffers at Watersmeet, 6:20 Wakefield-Marenisco at Lake Linden-Hubbell, 6:20 Bessemer at Hancock, 6:30 Chassell at Ontonagon, 7:20 EST Thursday, Feb. 18 Girls basketball Hurley at Ashland, 7:15 Republic-Michigamme at Wakefield-Marenisco, 6:30 Chassell at Watersmeet, 6 Ironwood at Mercer, 5:45 Bessemer at Ontonagon, 7:20 EST Jeffers at Ewen-Trout Creek, 7:30 EST Boys basketball Bayfield at Bessemer, 6:30 Ironwood at Mercer, 7:15 Friday, Feb. 19 Boys basketball Ashland at Hurley, 7:15 Watersmeet at Wakefield-Marenisco, 6:30 Bessemer at Dollar Bay, 6:30 Hancock at Ontonagon, 7:20 EST Baraga at Ewen-Trout Creek, 7:30 EST Saturday, Feb. 20 College basketball Michigan Tech Club at GCC, men, 2 GCC at St. Thomas JV, women, TBA Monday, Feb. 22 Girls basketball Wakefield-Marenisco at Ewen-Trout Creek, 7:30 EST Chassell at Ontonagon, 7:20 EST Boys basketball Bayfield at Wakefield-Marenisco, 6:30 Mercer at Goodman-Pembine, 7 Tuesday, Feb. 23 Girls basketball Watersmeet at Wakefield-Marenisco, 6:30 Boys basketball Ewen-Trout Creek at Watersmeet, 6:20 Ironwood at Bessemer, 6:30 Ontonagon at L’Anse, 7:20 EST Thursday, Feb. 25 Girls basketball Ironwood at Ontonagon, 7:20 EST Ewen-Trout Creek at Dollar Bay, 7:20 EST Boys basketball Wakefield-Marenisco at Mellen, 7 Friday, Feb. 26 Girls basketball Watersmeet at Ewen-Trout Creek, 7:30 EST Boys basketball Baraga at Watersmeet, 6:20 Wakefield-Marenisco at Ironwood, 7 Ontonagon at Bessemer, 6:30 Tuesday, March 1 Boys basketball Watersmeet at Ontonagon, 7:20 EST Ewen-Trout Creek at Wakefield-Marenisco, 6:30 Thursday, March 3 Boys basketball Wakefield-Marenisco at Watersmeet, 6:30 Ewen-Trout Creek at Bessemer, 6:30 Ontonagon at Baraga, 7:20 EST

A L L - C O N F E R E N C E P L AY E R S Returning all-conference players Boys Indianhead West First Team Brant Schick, Washburn; Davin Stricker, Mellen Second Team Colin Mergin, Drummond East First Team

James Sukanen, Hurley PMC Second Team Jacob Witt, Ewen-Trout Creek; Shane Cole, WakefieldMarenisco; Collin Gagnon, W-M CCC First Team Brendan Varline, Baraga Second Team Taylor Beaudry, Ontonagon; Lars Daavettila, Chassell; Devin

Schmitz, Dollar Bay Girls Indianhead West First Team August Gordon, Bayfield; Phoenix Thomas, Solon Springs; Cassie Krob, Drummond; Lindsey Bressette, Bayfield; Kamryn Lee, Mellen Second Team Alyssa Kavajecz, South Shore; Shauna Kavajecz, South

Shore; Karen Thomas, Bayfield; Kailey Davis, Drummond; Karly Sutherland, Solon Springs East First Team Emily DiGiorgio, Ironwood PMC First Team Hallee Yon, WakefieldMarenisco; Bethany Baldwin, Watersmeet Second Team

Kassidee Yon, W-M; Emily Driesenga, Ewen-Trout Creek; Caitlyn Pelissero, Bessemer; Darienne Korpi, W-M CCC First Team Lori Wardynski, Ontonagon; Carli Daavettila, Dollar Bay Second Team Alexa Destrampe, Lake Linden; Carsyn Osterman, Baraga; Peyton Gast, Lake Linden