SOUTH WAYNE — After 15 years at the helm and a flurry of wins, Mike Flanagan stepped away as head coach for Black Hawk this past summer. The Warriors were coming off their fourth-straight state appearance, and had earned berths to the state tournament seven times in those 15 years.

Shullsburg native Cora Holland takes over this season, though Flanagan will be on the sidelines as an assistant. Holland has coached AAU for the past two seasons and was the Black Hawk JV coach this past summer. She also has experience coaching volleyball and basketball in Shullsburg. She is a 2021 UW-Platteville graduate.

“This year we are returning only one varsity starter, and in a lot of ways it is a totally new team for Black Hawk,” Holland said. 

The Warriors were 21-1 last winter, losing in the state semifinal to Three Lakes, ending a winning streak that spanned three seasons. Four all-conference players graduated, including Bailey Butler, the state’s Miss Basketball winner for best player in Wisconsin. Butler is following in former Black Hawk star Jen Wellnitz’ footsteps and is playing this season at UW-Green Bay.

Of those returning for the Warriors is junior forward Tara Wellnitz, Jen’s younger sister and the team’s leading rebounder in 2020-21. She averaged 5.5 ppg, 8.2 rpg and 1.9 steals. She’ll be joined in the paint by Raylin Peterson (6.9 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 1.7 spg).

At guard is senior Tatum Baumgartner. “Tatum plays incredibly hard. She never fails to out-work anybody else on the court,” Holland said. “She has a great motor and can play hard for long stretches. She is a tough kid who has waited her turn to be our starting point guard and primary leader.”

Also back for the Warriors is senior Alyssa Lange, who is recovering from a knee injury, senior guard McKenzie Quinn, junior Jaliyah Collins and sophomore Kendra Haldiman.

“Alyssa is a tough offensive rebounder. McKenzie is our best on-the-ball defender and will be utilized greatly in our defensive game. Jaliyah brings size and strength to our roster. She was also a state qualifier in discus. Kendra is young, but has a lot of potential to be our best perimeter threat,” Holland said.

Newcomers include junior Jenna Meier, sophomores Veronica Cheatham and Keira Haldiman and freshman Maddy Lange.

“A big emphasis for our team will be to stay focused on doing ‘the little things’ really well. A strength for us this year will be our ability to be aggressive and work hard. We have girls that can crash the boards, and rebounding is going to be a big part of our offensive and defensive game,” Holland said. “Another strength for us will be the pressure we can put on defenses as we work to draw fouls and get ourselves to the free throw line. We have strong girls who work hard to get the ball to the hoop.”

Holland also said her team will need to improve its shooting range this winter.

“Losing four of our top five scorers from last year, we have spots that will need to be filled and girls who will have to step up to the challenge. I am hopeful we can get better and work hard enough to get ourselves somewhere in the top of the conference,” Holland said. “Our goal, as always, will be to play the best basketball at the end of the season.”

She expects Albany to finish at the top of the conference, with Argyle fighting for a spot at the table. 

“(Albany) has a very skilled, fast-paced team. We are also prepared for Argyle to come out very strong. They have a strong senior class. Argyle will create some pretty difficult matchups for teams, as they have size and length,” Holland said. “Barneveld is another strong team that has excellent depth. They will be somewhere in the mix.”

Who might play the role of a dark horse in the conference?

“We, Black Hawk, are also suspecting to fall somewhere in the top three. If our girls continue to work hard and improve, I see this being an attainable goal for us,” Holland said.