Lady Cardinals bring a lot of experience to the court
RANDOLPH — Marcus Pappenhausen should feel optimistic about his Randolph Lady Cardinals basketball squad after finishing 7-13 overall and eighth in the Lewis and Clark Conference.
Enough talent returns and the team could have what it takes to make a move this winter after learning the lessons from season’s past.
“The 2020-21 season was one full of ups and downs,” Pappenhausen said. “We had a great group of senior leaders that hopefully passed on some leadership to this next group of girls. The team was a really tight knit group that should make younger girls want to experience success in the years to come.
“As the season gets closer, we keep getting more and more excited. We return a few girls with some varsity experience but will have to introduce a lot of girls to this level. I look forward to seeing who will step up and contribute in a way that needs to be.”
Two Lady Cardinals come back with ample varsity time under their belts in Ariel Fye and Erin Engel.
“These two girls are great leaders and I hope they provide a calming experience for all the new girls that will see the court this year,” Pappenhausen said. “They will help them through tough times on the court and pushing them to get better.”
The loss of senior Grace Nordhues to injury will be a big hit to the squad. Ella Scott and Jessa Backer could step up and make up for the space left in the void.
“They will each do a lot of the ball handling and we need them to be able to run the offense for us,” Pappenhausen said. “Even though they are seniors, Emma Munter and Ryanne Winkelbauer will be new to the varsity court. I look for them to step it up for their senior year.”
So how good can the Lady Cardinals be?
“With so many new faces on the court this year I really don’t know what to expect,” Pappenhausen said. “All I am asking for the girls this year is to compete every day. Compete in everything in practice and make yourself better. Compete in the game no matter what, every possession.
“We have a good group of girls and I want this season to be one they will remember for a long time.”
Fye said the Lady Cardinals will have to work hard to overcome the loss of six seniors from a year ago.
“We don’t have a ton of experience, but practice isn’t looking too bad honestly,” Fye said. “We are focused on more fundamentals and playing by the book. Last year, all those girls played together in leagues and together for so long that they kind of knew each other and could go off the plays a little more since they knew where each other would cut. We have to go over all those plays again.
“We don’t have a lot of height. We definitely need to work on press break because as a new team, people are going to come at us with pressure right away. We have to stay calm when we get flustered and that could happen this year. We could get out of our minds and stressed out since a lot of us haven’t played together. We will have to figure it out.”
Fye notes the team’s athleticism and it’s just a matter of time to find the right amount of coaching and experience to get them “where they could be.”
