An injury plays havoc with Kimball girl's season

The 2016-17 basketball season started out just like Kimball High girl’s coach Chauncey Pedersen envisioned, with three wins in their first four games, but an injury to a key player helped to shatter those visions. The Lady Longhorns showed lots of promise with a pair of early wins over a very good Morrill ball club and a win over Perkins County in those first four contests, and a lone loss to a Dundy County team that went into the state tournament undefeated. Then, in the second meeting with Morrill, junior Alex Reader went down right at the end of the game with a severe knee injury that ended her season and required surgery. Alex was a returning starter who was all conference and Kimball’s top scorer as a sophomore and was already leading the team in many categories. Losing her abilities and leadership was devastating!

After the 3-1 start, the Kimball ladies had to revamp their strategy and although they had good effort, they simply missed the play of Reader. They ended up with six wins on the year and 14 losses. On a positive note, Alex was just a junior and she will be back in the lineup next year! The Lady Horns will lose two senior starters, however, in Alexis Lulf and Jannel Fiehtner, both honorable mention all conference this season.

Lulf was a long range sharp shooter who set a new school record for three pointers in a single game with eight! She hit 44 treys this past season while scoring 172 points, averaging 8.6 points per game as the second high scorer on the team, and she also pulled 81 rebounds. Fiehtner was a tenacious defender and a strong rebounder charting 91 rebounds on the year, and scored 86 points, averaging 4.3 points per game.

With her sister out for the season, younger sis Kate Reader had to take on an additional load. Often times she was directed to bring the ball down court, set up the offense, do a good share of the scoring and rebounding, and she did it. That is why she was an all conference selection as a sophomore. At 5’10”, she was strong on the board, leading the team in rebounds with 188, averaging 9.4 boards a game. She was also the leading scorer with 269 points, averaging 13.5 points per game. She also led the team in steals with 59, blocks with 44 and assists with 56. She has the complete game, and she has two more years to show off!

Behind the three players already mentioned are junior point guard Justine Heeg with 91 points scored for a 4.6 average including 13 treys. Heeg also had 63 rebounds, 26 steals and 19 assists. Carli Wurdeman, just a freshman, has a very bright future as she played a big role on the varsity with 78 points with 14 treys, 31 rebounds, nine steals and seven assists. Hannah Biesecker, a junior with good height at 5’11”, scored 74 points, had 58 rebounds, 23 steals and 13 assists. Alex Reader, in just the four games played, scored 61 points for a team high15.3 average including nine treys, had 15 rebounds, eight steals and nine assists. Despite her limited play, Alex was also selected for all conference honors by the conference coaches.

Others with varsity playing time who will be required to step up even more next season include sophomore Madison Wynne with eight points, 22 rebounds, 15 steals and seven assists. Sophomore Lacey Klinkhammer with nine points, sophomore Sheridan Magninie with two points and freshman Jenna Greenwood with two points.

In the final team stats, Kimball scored 867 points averaging 43.4 per game, shooting 31 percent from the field overall and 27 percent on three point attempts, and were 57 percent at the foul line. In the rebounding department, they averaged 28.6 boards per game with a total of 194 offensive and 378 defensive rebounds for the season. They had 58 total blocks, 197 steals for 9.9 a game, 153 assists for 7.7 a game and 430 turnovers in the 20 game schedule for over 20 per game.

The Kimball ladies had some school record inputs including the already mentioned eight treys in a single game by Alexis Lulf. Lulf also had a 28 point game which moved her up into the top ten in this category. Alex Reader also had a 27 point game before her injury so her name also goes into the books. Lulf also had a five trey game which ties for fifth place. Her 44 treys this season is the sixth best ever for Kimball High and she will also be listed in the top group for three pointers in a career. Alex Reader improved her 82 career three pointers from a year ago to 91 now which is fourth overall with one more season remaining.

Kate Reader is already moving into the record sheets in just two years of play. Her 269 points this season gets her into the top list kept. She shot 68 of 99 at the free throw line for 69 percent, which also makes the list. Alex Reader was 20 of 27 for 74 percent. Kate’s 188 rebounds this year is the ninth best ever, and she now has 383 for her career for 11th place with two years to go. Her 44 blocks ties her with yet another sister, Tori, who had the same number in the 2011-12 season, and is just one behind school record holder Becky Perry who had 45 in the 1991-92 season. Kate now has 64 career blocks to put her in fourth place with Perry the leader with 88, Kelly Young in second with 86 and Tori Reader third with 77.

Coach Pedersen is optimistic about next season with the return of Alex Reader along with all the other returning players, plus some talented incoming freshman players. “We need the girls to get in the weight room, get stronger, and play lots of basketball during the off season. We will have open gyms and attend camps and we expect to be in the running for honors next season.”