Blue Jay Girls Open Season This Tuesday
Stanley’s varsity girls’ basketball team will open their season at home this year on Tuesday, Dec. 3, when they host Killdeer. That will be followed by the Minot Shootout with Stanley set to face Velva on Friday, Dec. 6 at 11:30 a.m. and Wahpeton on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 5:30 p.m.
Having just started practice on
Monday, Nov. 18, numbers are slightly lower again this year with just 14 girls in grades 9-12 out for the team to start the season. Last year, the number started at 16 with head coach Heath Hetzel bringing three eighth graders up to start the year. This year, Hetzel says that they will likely bring up eighth graders after Christmas, after they finish their junior high season. There are nine eighth graders that could be making that move.
Hetzel also says that they will not play any C squad games until after Christmas. That means that the games against Killdeer will be just A and B games to open the season. They do not have any other C squad games on their schedule until after the Christmas break.
Hetzel says that the lower numbers are not just a local issue. There are multiple teams in the region that will only being playing varsity and junior varsity games this year as they see lower numbers. He also points out that lower participation numbers are becoming a national issue.
This year’s team is young with two seniors, Harley DeTienne and Jaymlin Gustafson, returning. That being said, though, they have multiple varsity players returning with experience, including juniors CeeJay Bohmbach and Tylie Johnson, sophomores Annie Roise and Lexi Neset, and freshmen Taya Niemitalo and Brinley Larson. Those eight will be on varsity this year, with sophomore Justice Belstad, and freshmen Emmalin Graber, Teigan Moe, Payton Lystad and Jozey Sorenson starting the season on the junior varsity.
Hetzel says that while the team is very young, they are not inexperienced. They will start two freshmen and one sophomore that gave the team significant minutes last year.
Their first week practices were shortened last week with activities canceled after school on Tuesday and school canceled on Wednesday as the winter storm rolled through the area. But, he said, he feels good about what he is seeing in the gym. Historically, after the first day, he says, you can see players in their spots and he is happy to have a returning set of five players with that varsity experience. In fact, he says, that unless something happens, these are girls that could start all four years for him.
He also points to the confidence that comes as they return to the court this year. He says that the team’s youth is a strength. Those players have the desire to be on the court. They know what they want and they are working hard to get in shape and be good this season.