By Chris Bennett
Sports Correspondent
Expectations are high in Waterford this season for the girls basketball team, and deservedly so.
Head coach Dena Brechtl is gifted with a deep and experienced squad anchored by eight seniors and five returning starters. Waterford’s roster goes 14 players deep, and Brechtl said everyone brings skills to the party.
“I truly believe we are the strongest team in the conference right now, but I truly believe we have to prepare,” Brechtl said. “Teams are not going to roll over because we have five returning starters.
“We have to be disciplined and be ready. We have a little bit of a target on our back.”
Waterford finished 17-7 overall, 11-3 and in second place last season in the Southern Lakes Conference. Wilmot won the conference title.
The Wolverines ended March 8 with a 50-43 loss to McFarland in a WIAA Division 2 regional semifinal game at Waterford.
Madison Blair, Jenna Bouffiou, Shauna Malchine, Tiffany Stiewe and Rylee Chart played in that game, and will take the floor at the beginning of the season as the Wolverines’ starting five.
Blair, a post player, earned second team All-Southern Lakes Conference honors and averaged 15.3 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. Blair, Bouffiou, Stiewe and Malchine each return with at least two years of varsity experience.
“These young ladies are aware of what it takes to be a successful varsity basketball team,” Brechtl said.
Brechtl said the Wolverines also expect production from seniors Lori Bakke, Savannah Barry and Hannah Duerst and junior Hannah Tuska.
Another intriguing player is the only one on the team with a northern New England accent. Sophomore transfer Emma King, from Maine, is expected to contribute at guard.
“We might not be big, but we are ready to run on teams with our depth,” Brechtl said. “We will continue to work on staying out of foul trouble and rebounding. If these two areas improve we will be a very strong team.”
Unlike most other sports, parity is not the rule in the SLC for girls basketball. Waterford, Wilmot, Union Grove and Lake Geneva Badger are clearly in a class of their own and are expected to vie for the conference title.
“Our conference is interesting,” Brechtl said. “We’re not the most solid conference, but the teams at the top compete day in and day out.”
Brechtl said those teams that finish near the bottom still play hard and bring a no-quit attitude to each game.
“A lot of rivalries really make this interesting,” Brechtl said. “The teams not competitive in the last three or four years, they never quit. They always come to compete.”
The Wolverines play four games on the road before opening at home. The Wolverines open the 2014 season tonight at Racine Lutheran and play Tuesday at SLC foe Burlington.
Waterford travels to Wilmot Dec. 2 for an early season battle for SLC supremacy and plays Dec. 5 at SLC opponent Union Grove.
The Wolverines finally play for the first time this season at home on Dec. 9 in a non-conference game against Racine’s The Prairie School.
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