Rosholt, A-B shooting to dethrone I-S in CWC small By MIKE KEMMETER of The Gazette The Rosholt High girls basketball team has two things that many teams in the state don't - height and a desire to play defense. With those two qualities, plus experience, the Hornets should battle Iola-Scandinavia for the Central Wisconsin Conference small division championship. The Thunderbirds edged Rosholt in the conference race last year and advanced to the WIAA State tournament. "We're hoping that we can be in the thick of the conference race," Rosholt coach Greg Vosz said. "We're very, very tall and we're strong defensively." "Expectations for us are high." The Hornets have six players back who played major roles a year ago. Seniors Amy Scott (center) and Jenna Eschenbauch (forward), and juniors Tami Scott (guard/forward), Emily Steines (forward), Kate Flick (forward) and Natasha Check (guard) return. Check is out until at least the end of November after she broke her foot in volleyball. Senior Jennifer Naumann (guard) and juniors Katie Kosobucki (guard), Laine Mueller (guard) and Stephanie Wierzba (center) are also back for the Hornets. Junior forwards Amber Groshek and Aubrey Rice are joining Rosholt's varsity team. Rice played junior varsity at Rhinelander last year. Christine Check is the only senior the Hornets lost to graduation. The Hornets, as evidenced in their season-opening 58-21 victory over Weyauwega-Fremont Tuesday night, will be stingy on defense. "We're a very strong defensive-minded team. They like to play man-to-man and just get after you," Vosz said. The height of the Scott sisters and Eschenbauch should give opponents problems. "There's a lot of teams that are very strong inside defensive players but our height could create a problem for them," Vosz said. "They're going to attempt to press us and take advantage of quickness to take away the height." In the win over Weyauwega-Fremont, Amy Scott scored 19 points, Tami Scott had 10 while Eschenbauch and Steines had eight points apiece. Besides Iola-Scandinavia, Vosz said Almond-Bancroft and Tigerton are other teams to watch in the CWC small. "Almond will put together a good squad and they're well-coached," he said. "Tigerton too. The rest of the conference is pretty young." With Amherst thrown into the mix in the postseason WIAA Regional bracket, Vosz said the Hornets "know they have to work hard. There are strong teams in the area. It's a tremendously competitive area and it always hasn't been." Almond-Bancroft Two years removed from a conference title, the Eagles are trying to get back in the race for first place. With three starters back and a handful of returnees, A-B hopes to make a run at defending champion Iola-Scandinavia and second-place Rosholt. "We can contend," A-B coach Rodney Wedig said. "We have some very talented teams in the conference. "Iola has all but one girl back from the team that went to state last year and Rosholt was neck and neck with them. Those two teams are going to be very good," Wedig said, adding Tigerton, Plainfield Tri-County and Port Edwards are other teams to watch. "If we know our responsibilities and play together as a team, we can be a dangerous team." Senior center Sarah Berry will be A-B's force in the middle. Junior point guard Courtney Newby and senior guard Andrea Cummings return to the starting lineup too. Seniors Jamie Warzynski (guard), Andrea Scholler (guard/forward) and Emily Getzloff (guard) are back, as well as juniors Darlene Turzinski (forward) and Carissa Yonke (forward). Sophomore center/forward Heather Wittig and Yonke joined the Eagles late last year while sophomore guard Beth Turner (guard) may see some playing time. The Eagles lost all-conference player Stephanie Jenz and starter Ellen Riggenbach to graduation. Wedig said his team has good depth and he probably won't have a set starting five. "It may depend on the team and how we match up. If we want, we can go with a bigger lineup or a smaller lineup, because we do have that flexibility," he said. "I'm comfortable with any lineup with those nine girls." A-B's offense will try to take advantage of Berry's height. "We'll rely on inside game and if they load up on (Berry) then we'll count on the outside shooting of Courtney and Andrea," Wedig said. "Our inside game, that should definitely be a strength for us. "We have good speed and quickness in the perimeter. No matter what team we're facing, we can slow it down or if we want to pick it up, we can quicken the tempo."