Posted: 12/8/04
Youth will be the key to success for girls basketball
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Joe Drennan
Sports Editor
After going 6-20 last season the only thing the Forest Lake High School girls basketball team can do is get better this season. Rangers head coach Jack Bender thinks the players are in place to turn the program around for the better.
ìWeíve got more athletes than we've had in the past,î Bender said. ìWeíve added a lot more depth too which should make us more competitive. Whether that turns into wins, I donít know. Weíll have to wait and see.î
This yearís team is captained by junior Renee Frericks and senior Tina Odegard. Frericks was the teams leading scorer last year as a sophomore averaging 11 points and five rebounds a game. Odegard broke the Rangers single season rebound record last year with 257 rebounds, averaging 11 rebounds a game and five points.
ìThose are probably our two best players from last yearís team and theyíre back,î Bender said.
This yearís Rangers team features six sophomores and one freshman. The lone freshman on the varsity roster is guard Abi Iverson. The six sophomores are forward Sarah Lindenberg, forward Andrea Thompson, guard Alisha Johnson, forward Madalyn Raasch, guard Jenelle Winiecki and guard Kelsey Kosman.
ìWeíre counting on those kids to see some significant time,î Bender said. ìAt most programs these kids would be playing on the sophomore team but at our program, to be competitive they have to come in before they may be ready.î
Bender says his seniors, Odegard, Krystal Overson, Katie Anderson, Sara Welk, Jessica Morgan and junior captain Frericks have done a good job helping the younger players make the adjustment to the varsity team.
Competition
Like any sport at Forest Lake High School, there is no easy conference game in the Suburban East Conference.
ìEvery game you play in the SEC is no cupcake,î Bender said.
Bender sees Woodbury, a team that has been to the state tournament nine years straight, as the conference favorite. The team has most of its players returning which doesn't make things any easier.
ìThey are clearly the best team in the conference and have been for some time now,î Bender said. ìTheyíre in a class by themselves.î
Roseville could be near the top of the conference as they have one of the best players in the league in junior AmyÝBegin.
Aside from Woodbury and Roseville, Bender sees the SEC as a tossup. Park (Cottage Grove) should be improved from last year along with Hastings. White Bear Lake lost a number of players from their team that made an appearance in the state tournament last year.
Two years ago the Rangers went 14-11 as they played a defensive minded system. Last year they strayed from that system and tried to be more offensive. Bender plans to get his team to play a more defensive minded game again this year and that begins with their captains.
ìRenee is the key,î Bender said. ìShe is the type of kid the program is expecting good things out of. She is the leader of the team both physically and mentally. How she goes is how we're going to go.î
In this weekís play, the Rangers were 0-2. Last Tuesday they lost to Cretin-Derham Hall 77-45 then went on to lose 42-39 two days later to Totino Grace.
In the loss to Cretin-Derham Hall Frericks scored almost half of the Rangers points as she finished with 17. Odegard scored nine points and Thompson had eight. In the loss to Totino Grace Frericks led the team with another 19 points, followed by Odegard with eight and Thompson with six.
The two losses this week drop the Rangers to 0-3 as they head into their SEC schedule.
The Rangers next game is Tuesday when they open up their SEC schedule as they host Roseville and AmyÝBegin at 7:30 p.m.
Forest Lake Times
P.O. Box 218
880 SW 15 St.
Forest Lake, MN 55025
651-464-4601
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