SOUTH WAYNE — After coming within a couple of shots of winning the state championship last season, Mike Flanagan’s Black Hawk Warriors are a team on a mission. 

Of Black Hawk’s 28 wins a season ago, only two were by less than 20 points and the team scored less than 50 just twice. In the 39-29 state championship loss to Bangor, the Warriors shot just 19 percent from the field and 9 percent from three-point range – both of which were 25 percent lower than their season average to that point.

With an offseason to refocus and a mantra of having “unfinished business,” Flanagan’s squad has its goals planned out.

“We hope to make a run at a third consecutive conference championship and to continuously improve throughout the season,” Flanagan said. “If we can do so, we should set ourselves up for a nice postseason run.”

Leading the way for the Warriors are juniors Natalie Leuzinger and Hannah Butler, as well as sophomore Bailey Butler. Leuzinger averaged 16.7 points per game and hit 55 3s on the season, while Bailey (15.5 ppg, 68 3-pts) and Hannah (11.6 ppg, 33 3-pts) can make teams pay around the court.

“We have multiple players who can score in various ways. We also pride ourselves in playing extremely hard on the defensive end, and we make it a goal to speed up our opponents in the hopes that we can make them play in a way that is uncomfortable and foreign to them,” Flanagan said.

Black Hawk’s press has gained wide acclaim throughout the state. The team had 490 steals (16.9 per game) on the season while turning the ball over a total of just 8.8 times a game. In the state championship, Bangor turned the ball over 28 times.

Other players that will see their minutes rise this season include senior Sydney Delzer, juniors Maddy Huschitt and Kristen Knapp and sophomores Kaylee Marty and Macie Stauffacher.

“We lack overall size and depth. We will accordingly need to play bigger than we physically are and will look for kids to be in optimal condition to play extended minutes,” Flanagan said, adding that getting to the free throw line and finding consistency in transition scoring are key to a big season.

Flanagan knows there are no guaranteed wins on the schedule, especially with nonconference games against teams with recent playoff success in Wisconsin Heights, Potosi-Cassville, Cuba City, Platteville, Dodgeville, Melrose-Mindoro, Darlington and Madison Edgewood.

Throw in two games against Argyle, Barneveld and Albany, and the Warriors have their work cut out for them.

“Argyle has a nice group of players with a nice mix of experience and newcomers. Another team that has a high ceiling is Albany, with some nice size, a good incoming freshman class and one of the best coaches in the area in Derik Doescher,” Flanagan said.