Another strength should be our athleticism. We have a very fast group of girls and I’m hoping we can use that to our advantage in transition and with some driving and attacking.”

Head Coach Josh Jalling

One game short of going to Green Bay. That’s where the Blackhawks’ season ended. And while getting to the sectional final is pretty good for a team that was just one game above .500 at the Christmas break, the Owen-Withee girls basketball team has unfinished business.
“I asked [the team] what our goals should be this season,” says Head Coach Josh Jalling, “and they said, ‘Win the conference and make it to the Resch Center in Green Bay for the state tournament.’”
Owen-Withee lost four of their first 10 games last year and then got hot, losing just four of their last 18 games. The result was a trip to the sectional finals and second place in the conference.
And while the Blackhawks will miss four-year starter Reina Arndt, who graduated last spring, they return the rest of the team that made that deep postseason run last season, including their top three scorers from a year ago, seniors Geneva Capetillo, Ellie Petersen, and Kendall Weiler. Other returning players who are bringing a lot of varsity experience with them are Kendall Mueller, Madi Mueller, and Kayla Rasmussen.
And while this Blackhawks team has the advantage of experience, one advantage they might not have is height.
“We are not a very tall team,” explains Jalling, “so rebounding will always be a concern for me.”
But Jalling has his girls focusing on what they can control (effort) instead of what they can’t, “We do a good job boxing out and being aggressive to get to rebounds.”
That effort will be evident in other aspects of the Hawks’ game as well.
“Our biggest strength is definitely on the defensive end of the court,” explains Jalling, “The way we communicate, and hustle make it hard to score against us. We have also worked very hard on getting our half-court trap to work better and early on this season. That has already paid off for us.”
And while they might not be the tallest team on the court, Jalling is hoping that they are the fastest and most athletic, “Another strength should be our athleticism. We have a very fast group of girls and I’m hoping we can use that to our advantage in transition and with some driving and attacking.”
It makes sense that a team that is looking to rely on the trap and transition game is focusing so much on their athleticism and speed. It certainly seemed to help in their first game of the season, which saw them beating Augusta by 31 points.
And as for the girls’ goal of making it to Green Bay and handling their unfinished business?
“These are very high goals for us,” says Jalling, “With the right mindset and hard work, I believe in these girls, and they can definitely achieve this.”