Girls Basketball: Nevis enjoyed successful season by going 24-4

After qualifying for the state Class A tournament for the first time in school history last season, returning to state wasn’t the main focus for head coach Paul Schroeder and the Nevis girls basketball team this season.

“Returning to the state tournament was never our team goal for this season. Sure, it would have been nice, but that specifically is not what was going to determine whether we had a successful season or not,” said Schroeder. “Our goal was to play as a team with the best effort and attitudes as possible, try to win each and every game, and let the chips fall where they may. The girls did exactly that.”

Despite falling short of making it back to state, the Tigers had one of their most successful seasons in school history by winning the Northwoods Conference title for the first time in 17 years and finishing with a 24-4 overall record.

After opening the season with an 84-66 conference win over Red Lake and a 58-28 loss to Park Rapids, Nevis went on a 10-game winning streak by defeating Verndale (61-48 in a Section 5A game), Cass Lake-Bena (61-42 in a conference game), Ogilvie (59-42 in a section game), Blackduck (48-31 in a conference game), Clearbrook-Gonvick (58-30 in a conference game), Northome-Kelliher (37-36 in a conference game), Braham (32-31 in a section game), Browerville-Eagle Valley (46-39 in a section game), Long Prairie-Grey Eagle (58-35 in a section game) and Laporte (75-22 in a conference and section game).

Walker-Hackensack-Akeley ended that streak with a 53-50 victory in double overtime in a conference and section game. Nevis rebounded from that loss by putting together an eight-game winning streak by defeating Pine River-Backus (47-30 in a conference and section game), Greenway (49-26), W-H-A (52-34), CL-B (40-37), Red Lake (63-30), Blackduck (63-38), Mahnomen/Waubun (52-36) and Hill City/Northland (60-21).

After a 62-56 loss to Norhtome-Kelliher, Nevis closed the regular season with wins over Sebeka (60-49 in a section game), Laporte (74-17), PR-B (60-41) and Lake of the Woods (62-30 in a conference game).

Nevis finished 14-2 in conference games to win the South title. W-H-A finished at 10-3, CL-B went 11-5, PR-B ended at 7-6 and Laporte posted a 0-15 record. Northome-Kelliher went 14-2 in the North with Lake of the Woods (5-8), Blackduck (5-11), Red Lake (4-11) and C-G (3-10) following.

For the Section 5A West tournament, Nevis received the No. 2 seed and opened with a 58-33 win over No. 7 Verndale before seeing its season end with a 66-58 loss to No. 3 W-H-A.

“Losing to W-H-A wasn't fun, but it didn't define our team, our season or our effort,” said Schroeder. “In that game, both teams had exactly the same amount of possessions and shot attempts in the first half. W-H-A shot lights out in that first half at nearly 70% while we shot closer to 30% in that first half, digging us into a 20-point deficit at halftime. The great part is the girls came back in the second half and shot much better and worked themselves back into the game instead of just conceding. They never gave up, and that's all a coach can ask of their players. It's a great trait to have in sports, but also in life. I was very proud of their effort, regardless of the loss.”

For the season, Nevis averaged 55.1 points a game while allowing 37.9 points a night. The Tigers shot 36.4% from the field (581 for 1,598, including going 163 for 561 on 3-pointers) and 56.3% on free throws (218 for 387) while averaging 16.6 turnovers a game. Nevis forced 20 turnovers a game.

Leading the Tigers this season was the starting lineup of seniors Addison Lindow and Liddy DeWulf and juniors Kayli Bessler, Marley Mitchell and Mya Stacey. Also playing key roles for Nevis were seniors Sarah Boettcher, Allee Forbes and Mallory Kowalke; sophomores Grace McNamee and Morgan Monroe; and freshmen Danika Anderson, Adeline Bjorklund, Ava Forbes, Olivia Harris, Clair Isaacson, Abbi Jensen, Brenna Lindow and Kendall Nelson.

Addison Lindow, Bessler, Stacey and Mitchell received all-conference honors while DeWulf and Ava Forbes were all-conference honorable mention players. Addison Lindow was named the Northwoods Conference MVP and Ava Forbes was named the conference’s Rookie of the Year. Addison Lindow also received the Thoroughbred Award, which is presented to the player who is dedicated, is a hard worker, has a good attitude, is a team player and is a leader and a role model for other student athletes.

Stacey led the Tigers by scoring 402 points and averaging 14.9 points a game. Stacey topped the Tigers with 68 3-pointers and 80 steals while contributing 87 rebounds and 36 assists in 27 games.

Bessler led the Tigers with 195 rebounds and 27 blocked shots and was second on the team by scoring 315 points (12.1 points a game) and making 50 3-pointers. Bessler also had 55 assists and 42 steals in 26 games.

Addison Lindow led the team with 107 assists and was third in scoring average at 10.2 points a game in scoring 265 points to surpass 1,000 in her career. Lindow had 153 rebounds and 67 steals while making 20 3-pointers in 26 games.

Mitchell played in 26 games and averaged 3.7 points a game, scoring 97 points. Mitchell was second on the team with 194 rebounds while tallying 34 steals, 21 assists and 20 blocks.

DeWulf scored 59 points (2.2 points a game) with 74 rebounds, 29 assists and 15 steals in 27 games.

Ava Forbes scored 149 points (5.3 a game) with 131 rebounds, 31 steals, 23 assists and 16 blocks in 28 games

McNamee also played in all 28 games and contributed 82 points (2.9 per game), 78 rebounds, 36 steals and 28 assists.

Isaacson chipped in 55 points (2.9 per game), 58 rebounds, 23 steals and 18 assists in 19 games.

Concluding their senior seasons were Allee Forbes (19 points, 33 rebounds, 20 assists in 19 games), Kowalke (31 points, 12 rebounds in 15 games) and Boettcher (11 points in four games) while Monroe (five games), Anderson (four games), Bjorklund (four games), Harris (21 points in 11 games), Jensen (three games), Brenna Lindow (six games) and Nelson (six games) saw some action as reserves.

“I was very pleased with our season. It was the best season record we have had in nearly 20 years and our girls won the conference title outright for the first time in 17 years against some formidable opponents, including Northome/Kelliher, W-H-A, Cass Lake, and PR-B. What a super accomplishment for those girls,” said Schroeder. “They had an impressive record of 24-4, won a conference championship and had a lot of fun along the way. They achieved that success through hard work, great attitudes, unselfish play and incredible effort game in and game out.”

Even though the Tigers graduate some key players, Schroeder is looking for the Tigers to put together another successful season next winter.

“We bring back some good players again next year,” said Schroeder. “Nothing will change in the way we prepare and play. We'll give our best effort, play as a team, keep our attitudes high and once again, we'll let the chips fall where they may.”