ARGYLE — The Orioles return just one player from last year’s squad and will have to adjust quickly if they want to remain competitive.

“This is a rebuilding year for sure, as we lost seven of our eight players from last season,” head coach Jen (Wellnitz) Krogman said. “We will have a young squad, so we are really looking to hone in on fundamentals and mental toughness this season. If we could finish .500 this season, I would be really happy.”

Grace Ganshert — a first-team all-state, first-team all-conference and Six Rivers East Co-Player of the Year — led the team in all but one statistical category last season: 19.5 ppg, 10.6 rpg and 4.0 apg. Maggie Godfrey, another first-team all-conference selection, led with 3.8 steals per game.

Senior Hannah Gierhardt is the only returner, having played in 24 games last season, averaging 3.2 points and 3 rebounds per game. 

“I will look for her to be our main leader and do a lot of our scoring,” Krogman said. 

In addition to Gierhardt, Jaylin Hartwig, Mya McNett and Lexi Wonders will be key components to the team this season. Krogman said Hartwig will handle the ball, while McNett will do a lot of scoring. As a freshman, Wonders has a lot to soak up but will likely grab rebounds for Argyle.

“We really lack basic fundamentals, so will need to catch up quickly,” Krogman said. “Our lack of experience is probably the biggest challenge we are facing as a team.”

As other coaches, Krogman sees Black Hawk taking the conference title.

“Black Hawk should run away with the conference title this season,” she said. “They have arguably the two best players in conference with senior Tara Wellnitz [Krogman’s younger sister] and senior Raylin Peterson. They only lost a few players from last season and have a nice supporting cast around them.”