NEW GLARUS — The Glarner Knights graduated four players from its lineup last year, including two all-conference players. Fourth-year coach Kim Burton will have a mix of youth and experience — but not much height — to replace the departed.

“What this team lacks in height, it makes up for with heart, energy and enthusiasm,” Burton said. “They need to continue to work hard each day and every day while focusing on making little improvements.”

New Glarus will look to seniors Lexi Krause, Morgan Hustad and Emily Streiff for leadership roles on the court and the bench. Krause (6.9 ppg) and Hustad (4.5 ppg) are guards that each average over 1.5 steals per game.

The youth on the Knights will also be key to growing success. Sophomore JayLynn Benson averaged 7.2 points per game and 3.3 rebounds per game as a freshman, and young players like sophomores Dylan Noll and Shea Klosterman-Havens, as well as freshman Emma Marty, will be looked at to pick up quality minutes on the court.

“We’ll need to find ways to score as we lost our two leading scorers for the past two seasons,” Burton said of the offense. 

But the key to success for the Knights very well might lie at the other end of the court.

“We are going to have to pick up our defensive intensity, be disciplined to box out on every shot, and improve our shooting range. We play in a tough conference, so we have to be ready to play hard each and every night,” Burton said.

New Glarus went 11-12 overall a season ago with a 4-6 mark in the Capitol South. Defending state champion Marshall is the favorite to again with the conference, with Belleville a contender behind the post play of Rachel Heittola, according to Burton.