GRC West Girls Basketball 2024-25 Season Preview

by Jeremy Benson, GrandRiverConference.com

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Princeton girls are the coaches' selection to win the GRC West Girls Basketball Championship for the 2024-25 season. Last season, they finished 3^rd behind St. Joseph Christian and King City. The Lions captured eight first-place votes. Albany received one first-place vote and was picked to finish second. Defending champion St. Joseph Christian was picked to finish sixth.

Princeton

Princeton Lady Tigers finished last season with a record of 19-7 overall and 6-2 in the conference. They also won the Gilman City Tournament for the first time since 2020. However, they were upset by Green City in their first postseason game to end their season. 

This season, the Lady Tigers are hoping to improve. They are the coaches' pick to win the GRC West. If they are successful, it would be the school's first conference championship since 1997. They will have to replace Grace Kelly (10.2 ppg, 2^nd Team All-Conference, All-District, 2^nd Team All-Cliff Notes Podcast, KMZU Dream Team) and Gracie Allnut (Honorable Mention All-Cliff Notes Podcast), but they return senior Addilyn Henke (21.5 ppg, 1^st Team All-Conference, All-District, District Player of the Year, 1^st Team All-Cliff Notes Podcast, KMZU Dream Team), who leads all returning players in the conference in scoring. Senior Macey Lewis (6.8 ppg, Honorable Mention All-Cliff Notes Podcast) and junior Audrey Kelly (3.8 ppg) also return as starters, excelling on the defensive end. Senior Randa Shahan (2.4 ppg), along with sophomores Mikaylee Henke (4.2 ppg) and Gracie Mitchell (0.4 ppg), return from last year's team. Newcomers for Princeton this year are senior Hanna Allnut, sophomore Evan Boxley, and freshman Cloe George.

Coach Mike Schmidli said, "We hope to build on what we accomplished last season; however, we face some challenges with our size. I feel like we will be undersized on most nights. I do think we will be quicker, which should contribute to our game, especially on the defensive side."

Albany

Albany Lady Warriors were winless and unable to field a team toward the end of the 2021-22 season. The following season, they won five games. They significantly improved last season, going 12-14 overall and 5-3 in the GRC West.

Albany will have to replace their leady scorer Abby Troncin (11.0 ppg, 1^st Team All-Conference, All-District, 2^nd Team All-Cliff Notes Podcast, 3^rd Team All-KMAland), along with Addisyn Crawford (5.0 ppg, Honorable Mention All-Conference, Honorable Mention All-Cliff Notes Podcast), Brook Wink (1.5 ppg), and Jasmin Valderrama (0.5 ppg). 

The Lady Warriors still have a lot of talent returning, starting with Juniors Hayleigh Wink (6.2 ppg, Honorable Mention All-Conference, Honorable Mention All-Cliff Notes Podcast) and Jordyn Sterkis (3.3 ppg) along with Sophomores Emma Hogue (5.4 ppg), Kaitlyn Bunker (3.1 ppg), and Jayden Hillyard (3.7 ppg). Even though she was the first person off the bench, Hayleigh Wink is Albany's returning leading scorer. Hogue was the primary point guard her freshman year and is expected to take a leadership role on this year's team. Sterkis, Bunker, and Hillyard will contribute from the post this season. 

Keylee Siddens (0.6 ppg) is the only senior on this year's team. She was injured for most of last season. She will provide the Lady Warriors with depth. Additions to the Lady Warriors team this year will be Maddix and Kennedi Epperly. They come in as freshman but are expected to contribute immediately.

Coach Cody Weller said, "My expectations for the upcoming season are to continue to build off last season's successes and fight with the top teams of the GRC West. Losing our seniors will be a learning curve we have to tackle, but we are gaining another solid freshman class to keep numbers up for competitive practices. I would like to establish more consistency on a nightly basis and become the team that battles every day at practice and in games."

King City

King City Lady Wildkats recorded their 2^nd straight 20-win season, finishing 21-8 and 7-1 in the GRC West. If they are going to have another 20-win season, they will have to replace a talented senior class. Gone are Zoe Tunks (11.7 ppg, 1^st Team All-Conference, All-District, 2^nd Team All-Cliff Notes Podcast, 3^rd Team All-KMAland), Kaylee Roberts (3.7 ppg, Honorable Mention All-Conference, 2^nd Team All-Cliff Notes Podcast), Tacee Catlett (8.0 ppg, 2^nd Team All-Conference, All-District, 2^nd Team All-Cliff Notes Podcast, Honorable Mention All-KMAland), and Carleen Gilbert (2.0 ppg). 

Clare Staley (9.2 ppg, 2^nd Team All-Conference, All-District, 2^nd Team All-Cliff Notes Podcast) finished second in scoring for King City last year and will return. She will be joined by players who had some varsity experience last year but will now look to take on more significant roles. Wylie McKinnon (2.4 ppg), Brylin Armfield (2.3 ppg), and England Garlock (0.5 ppg), also return. Beatrix Bowden will be a newcomer for the Lady Wildkats.

Coach Ryan Anderson said, "I hope to be competitive. We have a lot of new pieces that we are trying to mesh together. I am excited to see the progress we can make throughout the season."

North Andrew

North Andrew had their first losing season in four years when they went 7-19 and 3-5 in the GRC West. The 19 overall and five conference losses were the most since entering the GRC in 2016-17. The Lady Cardinals are turning to Audrey Elifrits to turn the Lady Cardinals around. This season, leading scorer Senior Madison Lillard (11.6 ppg, 2nd Team All-Conference,1^st Team All-District, 2^nd Team All-Cliff Notes Podcast, Honorable Mention All-KMAland) returns. Elifrits will be her 4^th coach in four seasons.

Moving on are Regan Walker (6.3 ppg, Honorable Mention All-Conference, Honorable Mention All-Cliff Notes Podcast, Honorable Mention All-KMAland) and Autumn Rasnic (3.2 ppg). Other top returners include starters Ellie Lawrence (4.8 ppg) and Teigan Miller (3.3 ppg), along with top reserves Piper Cook (2.7 ppg) and Gracie Wilmes (1.3 ppg). 

The Lady Cardinals will have lots of experience with four senior starters and Miller, a junior. Lillard can play both inside and outside. She averaged 1.7 three-point field goals last season. Lawrence is expected to be the primary ball handler and a key defender. Miller will also share some ball-handling duties. Cook and Wilmes will join the starting lineup this season. Cook is expected to be a post player, and Wilmes is expected to give North Andrew another shooter.

Juniors Briley Rainez and Lillian Richardson expect to contribute. Rainez has made significant improvements during the summer, and Richardson is expected to give the Lady Cardinals another shooter off the bench. North Andrew will be a very experienced team, with only two sophomores and one freshman on this year's team.

Coach Elifrits said, "We believe that we will be able to compete on any night of the week. Even if we come out on the bottom, we will be able to give any team a tough matchup for the night. We hope to be a team where no one can relax while playing. We are returning three starters and more upperclassmen, so their experience will be able to guide the younger players in our program. Softball got 2nd in their district, and we are excited to continue that success into basketball season."

Pattonsburg

Despite finishing the season 13-15 overall and 2-6 in the GRC, the Pattonsburg Lady Panthers were the last conference team remaining in the postseason. They won their district, avenging an earlier loss against Gilman City in the championship. They eventually fell to the State Champion Platte Valley.

Kelsey Crabtree (11.3 ppg, 2^nd Team All-Conference, All-District, 2^nd Team All-Cliff Notes Podcast) and Jeighdyn Barraza (1.6 ppg) are gone from last year's team. But the Lady Panthers return leading scorer Katelyn Jones (20.1 ppg, 1^st Team All-Conference, All-District, District Player of the Year, 1^st Team All-Cliff Notes Podcast). Other returning players include Kinsley Johnson (5.2 ppg), Jayden Goble (3.1 ppg), Addi Iddings (2.5 ppg), Annabelle Gardner (0.4 ppg), and Kara Bernadino (0.5 ppg). 

Coach Lee Warford also expects a couple of freshmen to compete for playing time and to help the team by Christmas. Coach Warford said, "This could be the most athletic team we have had. We are returning a solid core. With consistent play, we could be a good basketball team by the end of the year. I think the conference is more balanced than it has ever been and could have five or six teams that could share part of the title. It would be easy for one of the top seeded teams to finish low and one of the low seeded teams to finish high."

St. Joseph Christian

St. Joseph Christian has won 20+ games in the past three seasons, including two district championships. They finished 20-7 overall and 8-0 in the GRC West winning their first conference championship. This year, they will be starting over with a whole new team. Kerstyn Banks is taking over the reins as a coach. In addition, they graduated a talented class led by Chloe Burnham (21.7 ppg, 1^st Team All-Conference, All-District, District Player of the Year, All-State, 1^st Team All-Cliff Notes Podcast, 1^st Team All-City, All-City Co-MVP). Also graduating last year were Maya Freudenthal (9.6 ppg, 2^nd Team All-Conference, All-District, 2^nd Team All-Cliff Notes Podcast), Jaci Jorgensen (6.4 ppg, Honorable Mention All-Cliff Notes Podcast), Danika Wattenbarger (5.4 ppg, Honorable Mention All-Cliff Notes Podcast), Taylor Parmer (1.8 ppg) and Genevieve McDowell (0.9 ppg). 

The leading returning scorer is Madi Glise (2.2 ppg). Other players returning who had varsity experience are Olivia Pena (1.0 ppg), Joy Wallick (0.8 ppg), and Joy Windmeyer (0.4 ppg). 

Coach Banks said, "With an entirely new roster, our goal is to gain experience and growth this season. I'm learning about the girls and they're learning about me within our new system. They work incredibly hard, and they're very encouraging, so our goals are to grow in chemistry and experience. We are really looking forward to this season! The girls are incredibly coachable and excited to get our season started."

Stanberry

Stanberry had some bright spots last season, including wins over Albany, King City, North Andrew, and Pattonsburg. They finished the season 12-15 and 4-4 in the GRC West. 

This season will require former role players to step up into team leaders. The top two scorers from last year graduated, Amelia Wallace (19.3 ppg, 1^st Team All-Conference, All-District, 1^st Team All-Cliff Notes Podcast, 1^st Team All-KMAland) and Katlyn James (8.8 ppg). Trista Lager (5.1 ppg), Lindsey Hailey (4.5 ppg), and Eva Cameron (2.2 ppg) are the top returning players. They will be joined by newcomers Cortney Merrigan, Kynzee Adcock, and Allie Schieber.

Coach Taylor Wendt said, "This year, we have 14 girls on the roster, which is the most we have had in the last four years. We look to be aggressive on both ends of the floor. We are a very young team, so we will be learning how to work together at first. The girls have set big goals for this season. We will use each game to help us achieve these team goals."

Worth County

Worth County Lady Tigers struggled with injuries and a lack of depth last season. They finished 2-21 overall and 1-7 in the GRC West. They must replace leading scorer Kynah Steele (9.7 ppg, 2^nd Team All-Conference, Honorable Mention All-KMAland). Brooklyn Richardson (2.1 ppg) also graduated but was injured most of last season.

Worth County will return Kristen Tracy (5.8 ppg), Rylee Ruckman (6.2 ppg), Kambree Briner (2.8 ppg), Keira Hardy (3.0 ppg), and Riley Ridge (2.8 ppg). Freshmen Audrey Runde and Megan Tracy are expected to contribute right away.

New coach April Healy said, "The players I have on my team are willing to work and improve. I expect us to mix it up on defense to keep teams on their toes and develop our offensive threats over the course of the season."

North Harrison

North Harrison Lady Shamrocks only had six players last season, so just having a season was a victory. They struggled on the court, finishing 0-22 and 0-8 in conference play. Although they will lose two seniors, Jaci Davis (3.0 ppg) and Erica Gerken (1.6 ppg), a freshman class will give them more depth. Sophomores Lani Briggs (6.0 ppg) and Jaxcynn Hansel (3.5 ppg) return and will have expanded roles this season. 

The freshman class, consisting of Ava Rinehart, Addison Milligan, Hali Smith, and Gracie Young, will be expected to contribute immediately. Coach Aaron Long said, "I expect us to have more competitive games this season compared to the last."