ALBANY — Despite going 18-7 overall and finishing second in the Six Rivers East at 9-3, the biggest accomplishment by Derik Doescher’s Albany team last season was arguably the second-round overtime upset of Shullsburg in the regional tournament.
The Miners entered the WIAA Division 5 playoffs with an 18-4 record and were ranked ninth in the state. Albany trailed by four at halftime, but rallied to tie the game at the end of regulation. The Comets had won 11 of 12 games at that point, but lost to Fall River in the regional championship the next night. Doescher and the club hopes the momentum from the season carries over to this year.
“Our team goal would be to be a contender for the Six Rivers Conference championship,” Doescher said. “Our second team goal would be to win a regional championship. We came up a tad short last year and we are really hoping to complete the task this year.”
Black Hawk has won each of the last four Six Rivers East titles — and not lost a league game in the process. Doescher understands that it is an uphill battle and nothing is guaranteed — which is why his players will have to work harder than ever this winter to accomplish their goals.
“Black Hawk is the champion and has been, and until someone can dethrone the Lady Warriors, it will continue to be theirs. They are trophy-standard for all the local programs, and they will be the rightful favorite again this year,” Doescher said. “Great coach, great players and a great program. It should be everyone’s goal to try and contend and compete with them.”
Doescher expects Argyle, an “experienced team with great post play,” and Barneveld, a “dark-horse that will be athletic and difficult to guard” to also be in the mix to challenge Black Hawk at the top of the table.
Lost from last year’s squad is Kristin O’Bel, an honorable mention forward that averaged 8 points and 7 rebounds per game a year ago. She also scored a stunning 17 points in the upset win over Shullsburg. Haley Mueller (2 ppg, 2 rpb) also graduated.
However, the Comets return a slew of talent. Junior guard Brianna Dahl (15 ppg, 6 rpg, 3 assists per game) was a first-team all-conference selection, and Payton Wachholz (12 ppg, 3 rpb, 2 apg) received a second-team nod. Seniors Lily Brewer and Jada Flannery combined for nearly 8 points and 8 rebounds per game a year ago, and juniors Kaiya Zurfluh (9 ppg, 6 rpb), Emily Dallman and Gracie Freitag also saw plenty of minutes on the court.
“Guard play and the ability to transition up and down the floor for offense and defense” will be team strengths, Doescher said. “We should be very athletic and experienced at the guard position.”
Rebounding will need to improve, however, and the Comets will also need to figure out how to dial it up from beyond the arc when the opportunity arises.
“We will need to consistently rebound the basketball if we want to stay in games,” Doescher said. “Consistent perimeter shooting will also be very important to our squad.”
