Bluejays are soaring in 2021-22

Athens girls already have a 6-0 record

By Casey Krautkramer

The Athens varsity girls basketball team has continued its momentum from last year’s long WIAA Division 5 playoff run into a 6-0 start this season.

Kyncaide (Diedrich) Keefe is in the midst of her third season as the team’s head varsity coach. Her good friend and former Athens girls basketball teammate, Emily Roesler, coaches the junior varsity squad this season. Kyncaide’s mother, Danielle Diedrich, is one of her varsity assistant coaches this season along with Briana (Lavicka) Handschke, who is another former Athens girls basketball teammate.

Athens only lost two seniors, starting guard Kaitlyn Riehle and reserve Hattie Nowacki, to graduation in spring. The Bluejays have several top returning players including senior centers McKennzie (Mic) Schug and Elizabeth Van Rixel, sophomore forwards Jazelle Hartwig and Sophia Coker and sophomore guard Addison Lavicka. Cassandra Riehle and Lizbeth Ontiveros are the team’s other seniors this season.

Players who are seeing increased varsity playing time this season are junior guards Celina Ellenbecker and Addyson Zettler and junior forwards Sydney Coker and Alonna Haines.

Athens won a road WIAA Division 5 sectional semifinal game against Su- ring last season, before losing on the road to a tough Three Lakes squad in the sectional championship. Three Lakes ended up as state championship runners-up to Wisconsin Rapids Assumption.

Coach Keefe told her players in the locker room after the defeat to Three Lakes they need to keep the “sick feeling” of losing the game before state so it motivates them to advance to state this season. So far it’s working.

“It is a daily reminder and we talked about it all summer as well,” Keefe said. “It’s easy to just talk about it though; it’s on the girls whether they’re going to put in the extra work to make it one game further. These girls have a spark in them like I haven’t seen before and it is exciting for sure. I know they do not want that feeling in their stomachs again, and we are working to do all we can to not let that happen.”

Both Suring and Three Lakes applied full-court pressure throughout their sectional games against Ath- ens last season, because the Bluejays lacked a true point guard. Keefe realizes it’s the team’s major weakness but she’s hoping it turns into a strength this season.

“I think being a point guard is a mentality as well, so simply wanting the ball and going to get it when your team needs you is so important,” she said. “This is something we haven’t had, but we are looking for Addison Lavicka to step into a big role for us as our starting point guard. I will also be looking to senior Elizabeth Van Rixel (EVR) and senior Addyson Zettler to help us handle the point guard role. Another thing with breaking a press, you need more than one person to break the press. It has been nice to see these girls step up to the challenge, and they are working hard for this team to help us handle pressure and break the press this season.”

Keefe is expecting Schug and Van Rixel to lead the team this season.

“Both of them have clocked a lot of varsity minutes in their career, and both have been very successful when on the court. I know how much McKennzie wants to win; she makes that very clear every day at practice. McKennzie is our returning first team allconference player and I expect that and more from her this season.”