ALBANY —  With its first Six Rivers East conference title under Head coach Derik Doescher, Albany has no plans of slowing down.

“We want to be in contention for a conference championship,” Doescher said. “We also want to be playing our best basketball come tournament time and make a significant run in the WIAA tournament.”

Although the Comets graduated Co-Player of the Year and All-State guard Brianna Dahl — along with Honorable Mention seniors Kaiya Zurfluh and Payton Wachholz — the team has plenty of talent returning.

Junior guard Alana Durtschi was an all-conference second-team selection last season with 11.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. Seniors McKenna Broughton and Grace Freitag also bring experience to the squad. 

Doescher looks forward to how Broughton, Durtschi and sophomore Abby Hollis will handle the ball and set up the offense.

“Guard play will be a big strength,” Doescher said. “We return a great deal of experience at the guard positions, and this should transition into a fast-paced style of play on the offensive and defensive ends of the floor.”

While the guard position is squared away, Doescher worries about the post. 

“Post play and depth of players will be a concern or area to improve throughout the season,” Doescher said. “Our number of players within our program has declined which will be a concern of depth for the upcoming season.”

The Comets, who went 11-1 in conference last year, will compete with 2021 co-conference champion Black Hawk (11-1), Barneveld (4-8) and Monticello (3-9) for the title, according to Doescher.

“Black Hawk returns a couple of all-conference players and has a strong tradition of winning,” Doescher said. “Barneveld as a new coach and returns a lot of talent. Monticello returns several very athletic players with experience from last year’s squad.”