Kee girls basketball team returns all five starters in large group of ten letterwinners for 2015-2016

With 10 letterwinners returning from the best season in Kee girls basketball history, and half of those veterans making up the starting line-up of last winter’s 21-4 Lady Hawk campaign that was ended on the brink of a State Tournament berth, anticipation for the 2015-2016 season is running high for the Hawks. Kee girls basketball coach Danny Love knows that a rare advantage such as that can also offer its own bit of challenges, but those are challenges he’s ready and willing to face.
“We return all five starters from a team that was a game away from State,” Coach Love said. “I don’t think many teams can say that. With that comes a lot of expectations, and dealing with those is going to be something we work on every day.”
This season’s list of veteran returnees includes all three seniors on this year’s squad, along with four each of juniors and sophomores. Coach Love outlined what each of those returning letterwinners brings to the court:
“(Senior) Mikayla Gavin was named First Team All-Conference and to the 1A All Region 4 Team. Mikayla will continue to anchor the back line of our defense. Her length and experience will be a huge asset on both ends of the court.
“(Senior) Ellie Cooper was Honorable Mention All-Conference. Ellie and Mikayla are three-year starters and will be expected to handle themselves as such. Ellie’s point guard experience will be an advantage, she should be able to regulate the pace of the game for us.
“(Senior) Erin Rud will be looked at to use her athleticism and her familiarity with the other seniors in her minutes.
“(Junior) Courtney Cooper is an athlete that needs to be on the floor because of her leadership and work ethic. She stepped up last year by filling a guard role in our starting line-up, and worked in the off-season to improve in that regard. Coupling that with her experience in the post, she can be utilized as a match-up problem on the offensive end.
“(Junior) Madelyn Gruber will be looked at to provide post depth off the bench.
“(Junior) Jordyn Burroughs will provide guard depth coming off the bench.
“(Sophomore) Kendra Cooper was Honorable Mention All-Conference. Kendra stepped up her scoring in the postseason last year, and it will need to continue throughout the season this year. We will start looking to her as more of a vocal leader as the season progresses.
“(Sophomore) Ashley Schwartzhoff was Second Team All-Conference. Ashley is a shot of adrenaline after an espresso. Her motor does not stop, nor does her excitement for the game. She will be looked upon to run the offense with Ellie, be a defensive stopper and score.
“(Sophomore) Chloe Severson will be looked at to provide depth in the post. She’s a very physical athlete who can dominate the glass at times. We will need that effort on the boards every night.
“(Sophomore) Nicki Wood will provide guard depth coming off the bench. Nicki has plenty of speed and knows when to use it. She will help on the defensive end and in transition. She will also need to be an outside threat for us.”
The luxury of that many veterans coming back in contributing roles can also make for some unforeseen challenges, but Coach Love says it will take every one of this season’s team members to rise above anything that comes Kee’s way. “We will need everyone to understand and accept their roles this year,” he explained. “Basketball is a team game and we will need everyone to be on board with that team concept. Our focus will have to be extra strong this year.  Last year we might have snuck up on a few teams, but this year we will be getting everyone’s best effort every night. We’ll need 32 minutes of focus each game night and productive practices in between. We have had six really good days so far this year, and I really think that a continued effort like we’ve had so far will bring us some good results. That will make each of our girls a leader and someone for all of her teammates to lean on.”
As one might expect with such a large returning group, statistical leadership abounds from last year’s squad, including the top one-two scoring and rebounding punch of Gavin (281 points, 192 rebounds) and Kendra Cooper (247 points, 181 boards). The guard tandem of Ellie Cooper and Schwartzhoff also return with leadership numbers in their statistical specialties, including 89 assists and 44 steals for Ellie Cooper and 75 assists and 69 steals for Schwartzhoff. That tandem also accounted for 39 of Kee’s 45 made three-point field goals last season, with Schwartzhoff dropping in 32 of those long-range bombs.
The lone loss to graduation from last season was Molly Walleser, who made contributions far beyond her top-five statistical markings, according to Coach Love. “We are going to miss Molly Walleser, she was a valuable part of our team coming off the bench and on the boards,” he said. “She had a knack of being in the right place at the right time on many occasions.”
With expectations running high from such a large amount of veteran success, Coach Love says his team has set some high goals to push the Hawks even further beyond last season’s history-making result. “We want to get better every day, give 100% effort each time we show up; those are the only things that we have full control over,” he shared. “Other goals include a first-place finish in conference and making it to the State Tournament. I’d love to have a few days off from school that first week of March.”
Standing in the way of those goals will be a small handful of teams who provided the Hawks with their biggest challenges last season as well. “Right now, Turkey Valley is the returning favorite, but we are right there with them,” Coach Love projected. “Clayton Ridge lost two valuable seniors, and (6’3” junior) Savannah Domeyer will be out for a while. But the freshman, Emily Ertl, looks to be a solid athlete and could help them out. Central Elkader lost Kiana Stender, a huge part of their team, but gets a girl back from an ACL injury and picked up a freshman or two that look like they could be helpful. Coach Wiley always does a good job working with what he has, and the track and cross country tradition at Central means they will be in shape, and fast. As in everything else, anybody can beat anybody on any night. So everyone has to make sure that they come ready to play each night.”
With the work that’s been put in during the off-season, Coach Love not only likes the season outlook for his team, but also likes the outlook for the future of Kee’s girls athletic programs, in general. “During softball, Coach Liz Hill started the girls on an agility and lifting program that she has since opened to all of our female athletes,” Coach Love said. “You can tell the ladies who have made getting into the weight room a priority. They have an extra confidence about them along with their increased strength and stamina. I can’t thank Coach Hill enough for her great work with our female athletes at Kee.”
The Lady Hawks will get their first chance to put everything together in their first competition of this 2015-2016 season when they travel to Waukon this Friday, November 20. After another non-conference contest at Coulee Christian November 24, Kee will open its Upper Iowa Conference schedule Monday, November 30 at Central Elkader.