Five seniors finish hoops career at state tourney

COLFAX — What better place to end your high school playing days on the basketball court than at the Resch Center competing for a state title? Five seniors girls from Colfax achieved one of their goals when they, along with the rest of their teammates brought home a silver ball from Green Bay during the 2013 WIAA Division 4 state tournament March 16.

Hannah Hover, Ryleigh Prochnow, Brittany Rothbauer, McKayla Harmon and Kenna Breckner all had a hand in the team’s 69-9 record over the past three seasons which included three conference championships, one regional and one sectional title and a trip to the big show.

Hover was a three year varsity player and scored 626 points over her career. Three point shots were her specialty as she knocked down 35% on 93 of 264 attempts. She collected 210 rebounds,114 assists and 114 steals. In her junior year, Hover came up with 300 points and was second on the team in average points per game with 11.1. She also drained 37 of 93 triples for 39% and had a high game of 24 points. She earned first team All Conference honors both her junior and senior years. (Hover was not available the day  interviews were conducted with the seniors).

Prochnow also saw action for three years at the varsity level and had a very productive senior year. Coach Joe Doucette made it pretty clear she was the best defensive player on the team as she was always called upon to defend the opponent’s best player. She showed off her defensive skills by holding Cameron’s All State player Chloe Wanink, who averaged 20 points a game, to just four points in a regional contest this year. Prochnow led the Vikings in steals with 60 and grabbed 103 rebounds. She shot 60% from the field with 180 points for a 6.7 average, picked up 27 assists with five blocks. She was named second team All Conference for her efforts. For her career, Prochnow scored 398 points, collected 221 rebounds, assisted her teammates 68 times, added 106 steals and 13 blocked shots. Her high game was 14 points against St. Croix Central this year.

“Making it to state was definitely the highlight of my basketball career,” Prochnow said. “Our goal was to win it all and we started talking about making it there back when we played together in elementary school. I had a blast these past few years and even though we didn’t win state, I will always remember playing in Green Bay.”

After playing in four games as a sophomore, Rothbauer came off the bench and saw action in 23 games as a junior and 20 this season. Hustling from one end of the court to the other, she made the most of her playing time as she totaled 55 points with six three pointers, grabbed 70 rebounds, 21 steals and added 14 assists. As a senior, Rothbauer added team depth for the Vikings, scoring 37 points which included a trio of triples and 73% shooting from the foul line. She snared 33 boards, picked up 12 assists, 11 steals and blocked a shot. She scored a career high seven points against Flambeau.

“I wanted to be a great teammate no matter how much I played,”Rothbauer said. “Being part of school history by bringing home a silver ball is something I will always remember because I was with girls I played with for a lot of years,” she added.

Another player who added some depth for the team, Harmon played in 11 games as a junior and saw action in 19 games this year. In her two years, she scored 33 points with 15 of them coming from three point land. 25 of her total points came this year and overall, she finished with 16 rebounds, four assists and three steals.

“Getting to state and winning that first game was really great for our team,” Harmon said. “Even though I didn’t play a lot during the season, I tried to push my teammates hard in practice and just being a part of the team was a fun experience. We talked about getting to state back around sixth grade and it was exciting to reach that goal.”

Breckner had a lot of bad luck in her high school career and spent plenty of time rehabbing a torn ACL, not once but twice. After missing part of her sophomore year and playing in just three games her senior year, Breckner managed to play in 25 games as a junior. She tallied 59 points that year with six treys and had a high game of seven points. She added 29 rebounds and 29 assists, 26 steals and a pair of blocked shots. Her totals for her limited career were 81 points with eight three pointers,  41 rebounds, 43 assists, 36 steals and two blocks. Breckner will be remembered for holding off on knee surgery in order to start the game against St. Croix Central with her fellow seniors on Parents Night.

“Even if I couldn’t play most of my senior season, it was important to me to be with my teammates and support them,” Breckner said. “I am so happy that I was allowed to be with them at state and that coach Doucette encouraged me to play on senior night. I will have great memories even if I was injured.”

Doucette knows he had a special group of seniors this year.

“These kids worked hard and were always team orientated,” he said in one of his post game writeups. “They were a big part of our successful seasons and represented our school and community very well. They were good role models for the younger kids and they will be missed,” he added.