A t this point, opposing fans and teams are going to start asking the question: Just how long have Mia Kautman, Ella Henning- sen, and Mollie Schnormeier played for the Gilbert girls’ basket- ball team? And by the time the 2024-25 season rolls around, those same opposing fans and teams are going to start grumbling under- neath their breaths about seventh- and eighth-year seniors. That’s what happens when players are good enough to be con- tributors as freshmen and continue on an upward trajectory as the years tick by. Psychologically, op- ponents begin to think those players have been around forever. The truth is the three are just juniors in the Tigers’ program. They’ve played in a combined 138 games and started in 82 of those. And, again ... they’re just juniors. Yep, that’s a pretty good place to start if you’re looking to put to- gether a solid season. “That kind of experience is nice,” girls’ head basketball coach Mike Frisk said. “All three are good basketball players, but the biggest thing for them now is they have to be leaders, and that’s been a learning process of just figuring out how to bring more people along.” All three started 22 of 23 games a season ago and combined to average 29.9 points and 12.8 re- bounds an outing. Kautman, a sharpshooter from the perimeter, and Henningsen, a hybrid forward who can play down low or fill it up from the outside, both put up
No. Name
Gr.
0 1 2 3 4 5
Abby Patel Mia Kautman Callie Hales Katie Sniezek Kayla Rash
Jr Jr
Fr
Mollie Schnormeier Jr
So
Fr
10 11 12 23 25 31 32
Abigail Thompson Jr
Adalyn Gauck Kennady Hansen Kaylin Richards Lauren Sniezek Ella Henningsen
Sr Fr
Jr
So
Jr
Olivia Timmermans Jr
quickly. It wants to shoot 3- pointers and score in transition. It wants to put a brand of basketball on the floor that is aesthetically pleasing for the players and fans. But while the offense can be fun, it all starts at the defensive end of the court. Getting stops leads to transition opportunities, and Frisk says his team has to buy in at that end of the floor to find success this winter. “If we want to be competitive in the Raccoon this year, our defense has got to pick up,” he said. “We like the 3, but when we’re not hit- ting them we have to be able to guard, and I think you’ll see us continually get better at that all
better than 10 points a night.
year.”
Henningsen, who has the most starts of the trio with 32 in her freshman and sophomore seasons, has been sidelined during the pre- season after injuring her hand in volleyball, but Frisk expects her back on the floor in early De- cember. “We’re hoping to have her back by Carroll (on Dec. 1), but we’re not going to rush it,” Frisk said. “We don’t want it to linger all
Consistency from all three will be critical for the Tigers, who want to improve upon last season’s 10- 13 overall record and 5-11 mark in the Raccoon River Conference. The squad showed flashes last sea- son, particularly during a 5-2 start, but the juggernaut league has a way of exposing flaws on every team. In Frisk’s system, Gilbert wants to get up and down the floor
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WINTER 2023-24 | GAME ON 19
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