Boyceville girls’ basketball will need underclassmen to step up this season

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by Marlys Kruger

Sports Correspondent

BOYCEVILLE — With just one senior and two juniors on the roster, the Boyceville girls’ basketball team will need some help from their freshmen and sophomores if they want to improve on their 10-16 record from last year. 

According to varsity head coach Jay Lagerstrom, he doesn’t think ten wins was what his team set as a goal, but they did surpass the eight wins they had from the year before.

The Bulldogs lost second-team all Dunn-St. Croix Conference player Hannah Dunn along with Sarah Stoveren, Cora Leslie, Jaden Stevens and Jadynn Traxler via graduation.

Ashley Prestrud is the only senior on the team, along with junior letter winners Chelsie Holden and Zoey Hellendrung. Other players who earned varsity letters as freshmen are sophomores Aubrey Malean and Ellie Engeman and all of them are expected to step up their game this year.

Holden was the team leader in rebounding with 5.1 rebounds per game and a defensive leader on the court, while Malean was second in scoring, averaging 9.7 points per game.

According to  Lagerstrom, Malean really came on strong for the Bulldogs after starting the year playing a little cautiously. Once her confidence started she had some really big games for the team, while Hellendrung and Engeman played some great minutes and had plenty of learning experiences on varsity.

Twelve of the 15 players on the roster are freshmen and sophomores with the freshman having played a lot of ball. They bring a lot of individual skills and teamwork to the next level while the sophomores also have a very nice group with the junior varsity team finishing 12-7 last year. Some of the players bounced back and forth between varsity and JV and the competition and drive these girls bring will make the team tougher as a team, according to Lagerstrom.

Starting his fourth season as the varsity coach, Lagerstrom carries a record of 26-67 to the court.

He believes his team’s strength is the depth at the guard position, allowing them to play fast and pressure, and their weakness will be team rebounding since the Bulldogs lack size so being able to play physical will be important.

Goals for the team are statistically to keep turnovers under control with the young guards having all played a lot of ball, but for some it will be a big jump to the next level with the game a lot faster and more physical. The team wants to keep pushing every day to make themselves and the team better.

Elk Mound seems to be the team to beat in D-SC Conference play this season, according to Lagerstrom since they finished 27-1 last season and lost in a sectional final game in Division 3. They also bring back three all-conference players after winning the conference for a second straight time last year. (This will be the final year for Elk Mound in D-SC Conference play as they move to the Cloverbelt next season in all sports). He also believes Durand-Arkansaw will be strong with five seniors who have started together since their sophomore year back and Colfax brings back several good players from a great team last season.

Lagerstrom will be assisted by junior varsity coach Denise Jeske and volunteer coach Austin Sandow.

Boyceville opens its 2024-25 campaign with five straight road games beginning this Thursday at Cadott followed by another non-conference contest in Shell Lake next Tuesday, November 26.