Falcons seek 4-peat in CWC large By MIKE KEMMETER of The Gazette After two straight state tournament appearances and three consecutive Central Wisconsin Conference large division titles, the Amherst High girls basketball team isn't going to sneak up on anybody. The Falcons have four of their five starters back from last year's team, which lost in the WIAA State semifinal at Madison last March. The team's four seniors were on the school's state championship team in 1999. With all but starting center Meghan Simkins and reserve Caroline Quinn returning, expectations are high, as Amherst was picked by the CWC coaches to win its fourth straight conference crown. "I definitely feel if we play how we're able to play and use our experience and all the work they put into (this season), I feel we should win just about every conference game we play," Amherst coach Shelli Haferbecker said. "I expect a lot out of them and I think they expect it also." Leading the way is returning point guard Jenni Orsund. She's joined by senior guard Jenny Dombrowski and forwards Anne Stanislawski and Betsy Hoffman. "The girls, they know what it takes in crunch time in the tournaments," Haferbecker said. "We've been able to pull through in some close games. That in itself has made us a better team." Molly Simkins, a junior, steps into Meghan's spot at center this year. "She's taking over her sister's position and she's looking better than she did last year," Haferbecker said. "She stepped up a level from last year both skill-wise and in her leadership." Also back is junior guard Jamie Krutza and forward/center Melissa Yenter, who joined the varsity team before the postseason run. The Falcons have a trio of newcomers - sophomores JoAnn Konkol (guard/forward), Lyndsey Allen (guard) and freshman Margo Borgen (guard). Haferbecker said the team's chemistry on the court is coming together. "Our goal is to do a great job of playing together as a team. We're way ahead of where we were last year at this time," she said. "The team this year is very positive and very hard working. It's fun working with a group that wants to push themselves and wants to get better." While that's encouraging to Haferbecker, she and her team realize it's very early. The Falcons opened their season Thursday at home against Almond-Bancroft. "They know that even though we're looking good at the start of the season, they know they have to step it up as the season goes along and continue to gel as a team," Haferbecker said. In the conference, Haferbecker said Shiocton, Wittenberg-Birnamwood and Bonduel are teams that she's watching out for. While the postseason is still a long way off, Amherst's bracket in the WIAA Regional includes Iola-Scandinavia and Rosholt, two top teams in the CWC small. "We can be very competitive in tournaments. There are really excellent teams already in the regional bracket. We have the experience to come to play." Pacelli With only three returnees and a new conference, the Cardinals are looking to improve as the season progresses. The young team has no seniors and coach Jim Warzinik is devoting much of the early season on improving each player. "I look for us to spend a lot of time this first month more on individual development. The girls are very young and their individual skills need to be developed before we can develop the team concept," Warzinik said. "One of the drawbacks of being a small school is they spend a lot of time with other sports. Because we have multi-sport athletes, the kids can't make the commitment I would like or their other coaches would like. "For most practical purposes, we're starting from square one. I know there were girls that didn't touch a basketball for a couple of months. We have to learn to take baby steps first and see where we go." Junior point guard Kim Schulist and junior forwards Val Glodowski and Jenny Mitchell are Pacelli's trio of returning players. "Kim saw the most time last year as a backup point guard. Val and Jenny saw plenty of minutes throughout the games last year," Warzinik said. The Cardinals lost inside players Laura McCorkell and Lindsey Radomski as well as Lynsey Johnson, Kristin Mitchell and Cindy Lila to graduation. Juniors Emily Swenson (point guard) and Niki Bannach (guard), sophomores Megan Piotrowski (center), Emily Radomski (guard/forward), Stephanie Johnson (guard), Becky Fischer (guard), Erin Ligman (forward) and Erin Van Hammond (forward) are the team's newcomers. Warzinik doesn't have a set starting lineup for the team's opener. The Cardinals play in the Cranberry Classic at Wisconsin Rapids Assumption, Friday and Saturday Nov. 24-25. "We're going to look at platooning to see what players fit best," he said. "Because obviously we're a small team, we're going to have to count on quickness and rebounding." In the first month or two of the season, Warzinik said the Cardinals will be "working on defense and rebounding because we are going to count very heavily on those early in the season until our offensive skills can become better tuned. "Our emphasis has to be effort, concentration and trying to develop mental toughness," he said. "One of our biggest Achilles' heels last year was turnovers. Frankly, we need to become better ball handlers. It's going to take us some time through practice to develop that." In the conference, Warzinik says Amherst will be a very tough opponent. Wittenberg-Birnamwood, Shioction and Bonduel are other teams to look out for. "At this point, I really don't care who we play. I'm more concerned about our own development before our opponents. "I told (the team), 'Let's slowly improve and raise the level of our play each game.' We can learn from mistakes and correct the mistakes. When January and February come around, we hope we become a competitive team."