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HARTINGTON — The Hartington-Newcastle Lady Wildcat basketball team returns a lot of youth.
In fact, just one senior is out for basketball and she is out with an injury.
“We are a very young team,” said head coach Grant Rolfes. “Vayda Lippert started last year as a freshman and Ella Eickhoff did sta rt some games last year also as a freshman.”
Lippert scored nine points per game last year and should be the key ingredient if the Lady ‘Cats are to improve on their 12-11 record of a year ago.
Eickhoff should move up to a full time starter and Karissa Bruni ng will find a bigger role for this year’s team.
Hazel Hochstein is the lone senior on the roster and will be out due to an injury but will hopefully return after the Holiday break.
“Hazel is out injured for the first part of the season,” said Rolfes. “Hopefully we’ll get her back by the midway point, which will help a lot. Karissa Bruning is a junior who played limited minutes last year but will have a much larger role this season.”
Also looking for time on the court will be freshmen Nora Lange, Hadley Grutsch and Jocelyn Reyes along with sophomores Katelyn Uldrich, Kloe Fischer and Ziva Stratman.
The Lady Wildcats will open the season at home when they take on Ponca Dec. 4 before a trip to take on Summerland in Greater Northeast Activities Conference action on Dec. 5.
Boyd County comes to town Dec. 9 before HNS travels to O’Neill to take on St. Mary’s Dec. 12.
The Lady ‘Cats will finish the pre-Holiday portion of the schedule on the road at Niobrara/Verdigre and Wakefield and a home date w ith Neligh-Oakdale on Dec. 19.
“Even though we are young I am excited for this team,” Rolfes s aid. “I think they are a hard working group who started putting in the work over the summer already. I think when you have a group that wants to work hard and wants to improve is about all you can ask for as a coach. Coaching girls that want to do those things is so rewarding to be a part of.”
