The 2001-02 Hills-Beaver Creek girlsÕ basketball roster features three senior team members. Left to right are: Becky Broesder, Jody DeNoble and Brittney Olson.
By John Rittenhouse
A battle-tested group of athletes will lead the Hills-Beaver Creek girls' basketball team into a promising 2001-02 season.
With four players returning with starting experience from last year's squad and three more girls with varsity exposure in 2000-01 back in the ranks, H-BC has to be considered a veteran team.
The unique thing about H-BC's situation is that it will be a young team, too.
Patriot coach Tom Goehle will open the year with a 10-player roster (three seniors, two juniors, two sophomores and three freshmen), and half of the charges are sophomores or younger.
"We have some quality experience," Goehle said. "When you look at our roster as a whole, you would think that we are a very young team with three seniors. I like the amount of experience we'll bring to the court this year. That's always an advantage, especially early in the season."
Many of the Patriots who will play for Goehle this winter were key members of a team that made a bid for a .500 record in a rebuilding season that ended with H-BC sporting an 11-13 overall record.
The Patriots placed third in the Tri-County Conference with a 5-3 league mark, and they beat Sioux Valley-Round Lake-Brewster 56-27 in the first round of the South Section 3A Tournament before nearly upsetting No. 2-seeded Southwest Christian (falling 40-38) in the quarterfinals.
Graduation claimed three players who assumed very important roles for the 2000-01 team.
Shanna Tilstra, a starting wing, played her way onto the final All-T-CC Team as a senior.
Rachael DeHaan and Jamie Arp played forward positions for the team, either starting games or coming off the bench in Goehle's player rotation.
While the H-BC coach will miss last year's seniors, Goehle thinks the Patriots will be able to overcome their departure with his salty, 10-player roster.
"We have seven letter winners coming back with at least one year of varsity experience, and some of them have two or three years of experience. They will be the ones who will help us get out of the gate this season. I expect all 10 of the girls to help out as the season progresses. As the new girls gain more experience and confidence, I expect to use all 10 of our players," he said.
The coach expects seniors Becky Broesder, Jody DeNoble and Brittney Olson to play key roles for the 2001-02 team. All three girls drew starting assignments at times last season.
Broesder, a 5-8 guard-forward, has to be considered the top returning senior. She made the All-T-CC roster as a junior.
DeNoble, a 5-10 post, and Olson, a 5-7 guard, also bring experience to the table.
"It's nice having seniors coming back with the amount of experience these three have. Not only did they play a lot last year, they played quite a bit as sophomores," Goehle said.
Juniors Jody Rentschler and Sarah Rozeboom, sophomore Erin Boeve, and freshman Cassi Tilstra are the other players who lettered for the Patriots last season.
Boeve, who has played at the varsity level since the eighth grade, is a player opposing teams will fear.
A 6-0 post, Boeve led the Patriots in rebounding and scoring during a freshman season that ended with her being selected to the All-T-CC squad.
Rentschler, a 5-7 guard-forward, hit a game-winning shot for the Patriots during a contest early last season. Rentschler and Cassi Tilstra, a 5-8 guard, gained even more playing time late in the year.
Rozeboom didn't play as much as the other returning letter winners did in 2000-01, but that will change for the 5-5 guard this winter.
The seven letter winners will give Goehle different options on how to play different opponents H-BC will be facing.
"With the experience we have, we'll have some versatility to run a couple of different offenses. We have the experience to run a patient, deliberate offense, and we have the athletic ability to run if we want to push the ball. The same thing is true on defense. We'll have different options," he said.
Sophomore Amanda Olson and freshmen Brittney Rozeboom and Melinda Feucht are newcomers to the team. Their impact at the varsity level is expected to increase as the season progresses.
H-BC will play in the Red Rock Conference for the first time this winter. The Patriots will play two games each against the teams in the western half of the division (Edgerton, SWC, Adrian, Murray County Central, Fulda), and one game each against the teams from the eastern half of the conference (Comfrey, Red Rock Central, Southwest Star Concept, Sioux Valley-Round-Lake-Brewster, Westbrook-Walnut Grove, Mountain Lake-Butterfield-Odin).
Goehle is looking forward to playing in the RRC and to H-BC's season overall.
"We're excited about being in the RRC. It's an added challenge. It will make trying to obtain a conference championship more meaningful because there are more teams involved. I think we're going to have a great year. We'll let the games take care of themselves, but I think weÕll have a great season," he concluded.
The Patriots host Edgerton in the RRC opener tomorrow.