With college basketball season already underway, the Wayne State College women’s basketball team is geared up to get their own season started.
Last season, the Wildcats went 7-18 overall with a 4-18 record in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play. They finished 14th in the conference standings. Entering the 2024-25 schedule, the NSIC preseason coaches’ poll picked the Wildcats to finish 13th out of 15 teams.
WSC sees very few players leave last year’s group, but there is a very important loss. Forward Britney Ho was the Wildcats’ leading scorer last year, averaging 12.6 points per game, the only player to average a double-digit total. Ho was also the team’s leader in rebounds with 4.6 per game. Brigid Boyle also leaves last year’s team as she transferred to Briar Cliff University.
This year’s version of the Wildcat women will be a very experienced bunch. Five seniors and four juniors will highlight this team that returns a ton of production.
“Super excited with our team as a whole,” head coach Brent Pollari said. “We have really good chemistry with this group. We’ve been able to build on a lot of the things we did last year.”
Starting with the guards, seniors Carsyn Boswell, Tate Norblade and Abby Kopecky will all be leaders of this group. Boswell was the leading scorer out of the three seniors, averaging 7.2 points per game, and she also led the team in minutes played per game last year with 31.2. Norblade averaged 5.2 points per game and shot over 42.1% from beyond the three-point arc, good for second on the team. Kopecky took a dip in her scoring from seasons prior because of her limited shooting attempts, a number that is expected to increase this year.
Other players such as junior Meg Rietz and freshmen in Macy Birkholz, Norah Danielson and Emma Frost will provide some depth in the backcourt. Rietz will play a massive role, and the freshman Birkholz is an impact freshman to watch.
“We’ve been working a lot on entering it into the post,” Kopecky said. “We are trying some new things but especially we are working on a lot of things we already know how to do.”
There are a couple of returning combination players of note that can play as a guard or forward. Senior Delaney Clark led the Wildcats in three-point percentage with a 42.3% mark, just edging out her teammate in Norblade. Lily Fitzgerald also fits into this category, and after only playing in nine games last year, the junior’s role is expected to increase in 2024.
Into the true forwards, it is highlight by the NSIC coaches’ poll player to watch in senior Maya Fitzpatrick. She is a two-way player that impacts the game on both sides of the floor. Fitzgerald was second on the team in scoring and rebounding, averaging 9.5 points per game and 3.2 boards per game. Her defensive presence was extremely valuable, as she led the team in both steals and blocks.
“Maya is one of the best defenders in our league,” Pollari said.
Brooklyn Kruse returns after having a great freshman season. Juniors Rachel Dahlen and Kylah vanDonkersgoed also return to provide depth off the bench, and any of the three players mentioned may see themselves in a starting role throughout the year. The forward grouping also welcomes freshman Addy Johnson to the team.
“Our forward group is really strong this year,” vanDonkersgoed said. “It’s been fun to go up against each other and adapt our games.”
The Wildcats’ season tips off on Saturday, Nov. 9, as they take on the Chadron State Eagles in Chadron, Nebraska at 1 p.m.
“We have a chip on our shoulder after losing so many one possession games,” Pollari said. “We have talent. We have team chemistry. We just have to be tougher and we will see success.”
