It would be hard to find another league or conference in the state of Kansas with a vast variety of girl's teams and athletes that will comprise this years' Northern Plains league basketball tournament to be played this week.
The league has four ranked teams in basketball. The NPL had three teams qualify for the state volleyball championships this past fall. Lincoln's Jenna Farris is a two time state champion in cross country. Wilson's FFA chapter which includes 15 of 17 girls on the basketball team was named National Champions in Chapter Innovation and Community Development. Pike Valley's girls track team ran to a third place finish this past spring.
Thunder Ridge, Wilson, Pike Valley and St. John's/Tipton are the top four seeds but Lincoln and Logan have enough athletes to make things miserable for the top seeds. The girls' teams as far as records and talent are so close that no less than three different coin flips were used in the seeding for the tournament.
Thunder Ridge rated No. 6 in Division 1, and this year's No. 1 seed is led by third year Coach Darren Grauerholz. Grauerholz hopes his Lady Longhorns can raise this year's league championship trophy but said the field is loaded with great teams and great players. "The team that wins it will have to be in great shape mentally and physically," said Grauerholz, who led his team to the sub-state final last season. "Players have to take care of their bodies this week. The team with the strongest inside game and deepest bench will win it."
Thunder Ridge (6-1) certainly may have the advantage in the paint. The Lady Longhorns boost two six-footers in senior Michaela Bienhoff (7.9 ppg) and junior Jackie Reneberg (4.9 ppg). Throw in 5-11 sophomore Caitlin Boden (3.6 ppg) off the bench and Thunder Ridge can make opposing offenses struggle from a shooting and rebounding perspective. Junior point guard Brittany Kirchoff (12.1 ppg) and senior Kelsey Atchison (9.3 ppg) make opposing teams think twice before packing in the defense. Junior Amber Schmid (5.1 ppg) is the fifth starter and all-state academic cross country runner, Madeline Reneberg, (senior) provides depth at the guard position. The Lady Longhorns are looking to add championship hardware to their collection that includes a sub-state championship in volleyball this past fall.
Wilson (5-2) the No. 2 seed in the tournament and ranked No. 2 in Division 2 has dropped two games in a row. Expect the Lady Dragons to bounce back during this week's tournament. Losses to Central Plains (38-36) and Lincoln 50-47 have made the Lady Dragons hungry. Junior Karlie Steinle is averaging 21 ppg and leads the team in rebounds (11 rpg). Her 33 point outburst against Stockton has put her third in the league in scoring. She has help with seniors Emily Beneda (10.7 ppg) and Sara Lanter (6.9 ppg) providing enough pressure to free up Steinle. Beneda, is averaging nearly double digit rebounds 9.3 rpg with Lanter grabbing 6.3 rpg. Steinle according to Coach Rod Seehafer is a quiet leader but when the Lady Dragons need a bucket she can do it with ease. Seehafer said he thinks the tournament will come down to game management and finding enough depth to get through four games. "Depth is the key and how teams use their bench," said veteran coach Seehafer, who has coached girls basketball for 19 years but is in his third year of his second stint after not coaching high school girls for a number of years. "How you manage your games. You don't want to run the girls into the ground." Loss of sophomore point guard, Shanie Steinike, who rolled an ankle in the loss to Lincoln (4.6 ppg) will be a major issue for Wilson. Seehafer said it will be a day to day decision for her coming back to play.
Pike Valley (6-2) rated No. 9 in Division 1 has easily played the toughest schedule. The Lady Panthers two losses came to No. 2 Washington County and No. 5 Smith Center in 2A. Talent runs deep in Courtland with sisters Courtney (5.5 ppg) and Casey Freed (5.3 ppg) doubling in volleyball and cross country in the fall and excelling on the track in the spring. Don't under estimate the power of seniors Olivia Housholder, a 5-10 forward who is averaging 8.8 ppg and Averie Gritten (14.6 ppg), who was named to the all-state volleyball tournament team. Kora Bergstrom (13.6 ppg) is the only junior on the team. Quinten Bergstrom has taken over the reins as coach and feels his team is a work in progress. He noted that the team has good senior girls providing great leadership. "We are fairly young experience wise but our two seniors have been great leaders," Bergstrom said. "We have good athletes. We are trying to mature the younger girls so our team can keep playing the up-tempo game we like." Bergstrom said his team playing three games in a row at Washington in a preseason tournament gave the team a feel for what this weeks NPL tournament could be like. Keeping his players fresh by playing at least eight players in the rotation has established a bench capable of going the distance in the NPL Tournament. "We know that the grind of playing an up-tempo game will make us go deeper to the bench," Bergstrom stressed. "We have to stay out of foul trouble and stay healthy."
St. John's/Tipton (5-2) ranked No. 10 in Division 1 has just nine players on this years team. St. John's/Tipton would like to go back to back with respect to league championships having captured the league volleyball championship this past fall. Seniors Alyssa Gasper (16 ppg) and Damaris Niewald (9.2 ppg) along with junior Erin Schroeder (8.5 ppg) provide the scoring for the Lady Jays.
Lincoln (5-2) and Logan (4-3) have more than enough talent to derail any of the top four seeded teams. The Lady Leopards have the leagues leading scorer in Jenna Farris (23.8 ppg). Consistently scoring over 20 points per game since her freshmen year, Farris will be hard to handle. Farris teams up with Emma Husky (6.8 ppg), who often is left open from the perimeter, because of the defensive tactics of opponents. Jennifer Crist, a 6-0 junior (9.3 ppg) and 5-11 senior post, Victoria Feldkamp, (5.2 ppg) adds a scoring and rebounding threat for the Lady Leopards in the paint.
Logan, which has six seniors including Caley Greving (16.3 ppg) and guard Hannah Pinkerton (6.5 ppg), qualified for the Division 2 state basketball tournament a year ago. Greving was an all-state volleyball tournament selection this past fall. She is the leagues fourth leading scorer in basketball. The Lady Trojans experience in state basketball and volleyball could take them to new heights in the NPL tournament.
Lakeside, (4-5) who recently knocked off St. John's/Tipton, may have the player with the best name in the tournament, Prairie Marlier. Savana Brush (10.2 ppg) and Marlier (10.1 ppg) lead the Lady Knights in scoring. Natoma's Danica Casey (22 ppg), a junior, is the second leading scorer in the NPL. Chase (2-7) is led by former Quivira Heights Coach Brent Clark. The rest of the field will include Southern Cloud (3-5), Sylvan-Lucas (4-5), Tescott (0-8), Palco (3-5), Northern Valley (0-6), and St. Xavier, who is not a member of the new 15 team league.
