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By HART PISANI | hpisani@journal-advocate.com |
January 27, 2021 at 9:34 a.m.
Lady Bulldogs will again field a small squad
The 2019-2020 season was another rough year for the Peetz Lady Bulldogs. Peetz hasn’t posted a winning season since the 2011-2012 campaign and have won just 10 games the past four years. This year, the Lady Bulldogs will field yet another small squad, but this one should be more experienced than the one they put out last year.
Peetz went just 2-18 last year and lost four-year player Caroline Lindhal to graduation. Several seniors from last year’s team participated for the first time in their careers just to ensure the Lady Bulldogs could field a team. There will be just two seniors this year in Addyson Gipfert (4.4 points, 3 rebounds, 1.6 steals per game last year) and Kenna Pultz (did not play last year). There will be other returners to help out as well.
Junior Paige Maddox (6.3 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 3.7 SPG) and sophomore Lexie Nienhuser (1.2 PPG, 1.8 RPG) will return, with Maddox having led the team in points and steals last year. Gipfert was second on the team in rebounds. After that, it’s a small crew with no varsity experience. Still, head coach Stephanie Weber is optimistic about the team’s future.
“We’re really looking for our freshmen to step in and take over some roles that we lost last year,” she said. “Last year we had a few girls playing for us that played just one year so we could keep a team. Even though we were really appreciative of them being there, they didn’t really know basketball the way my freshmen do. We’re really excited to get my freshmen out there to join the rest of them.”
Clearly, with an emphasis on freshmen and the leadership of the junior Maddox, it may prove difficult to win a lot of games this season. That holds especially true when you play in Peetz’s league. The Lady Bulldogs will have to compete against two state championship contenders in Fleming and Briggsdale, as well as competitive Pawnee, Prairie, and Weldon Valley squads. Still, in a year that’s been as crazy as it has, and with just eight players on the team, the fact that the Peetz Lady Bulldogs are sending a team out there to play is an accomplishment in of itself.
“Honestly they just want to play,” said Weber. “In Peetz, we don’t really have any other sports that the girls got to play in the fall like softball. This is really their first chance to get out and play, so they’re just ready to play, so we’re excited.”
Peetz will open their season this Friday at Haxtun.
Peetz Girls Basketball Schedule
Friday, Jan. 29 vs. Haxtun, 4 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 2 @ Caliche, 4 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 5 vs. Briggsdale, 5 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 6 @ Creek Valley, 4 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 9 @ Potter-Dix, Noon
Thursday, Feb. 11 vs. Weldon Valley, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 16 vs. Fleming, 5 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 20 vs. North Park, 3:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 23 @ Weldon Valley, 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 25 @ Prairie, 5 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 26 @ Otis, 4 p.m.
Thursday, March 4 @ Akron, 4 p.m.
Friday, March 5 @ Merino, 5 p.m.
Roster
Athena Kissell, Fr.
Kenna Pultz, Sr.
Paige Maddox, Jr.
Addyson Gipfert, Sr.
Addison Ramey, Fr.
Sadie Fehringer, Fr.
Khira Gipfert, Fr.
Lexie Nienhuser, So.
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