MFL MarMac Girls Basketball Preview: Mix of talent will make team exciting to watch
The MFL MarMac girls basketball team includes (front, left to right) Olivia Driscoll, Brooklyn Landt, Khloe Schutte, Cora Keehner, Kacie Picha, Nora Rasmussen, Blair Winter, Kinsley Young; (back) manager Ariana Fish, assistant coach Mike Driscoll, manager Taylor Randall, Ashtyn Dundee, Evie Fritz, Emma Driscoll, Brynlee Fritz, Samantha Ruff, Emme Wikner, Evelyn Birdnow, manager Kambry Keehner and co-head coaches Jess Schubert and Brian Bugenhagen. (Photo by Audrey Posten)
By Audrey Posten | Times-Register
A strong returning core infused with a talented class of freshmen will make the MFL MarMac girls basketball team exciting to watch this season, said co-head coach Brian Bugenhagen.
“I think with the talent coming in, our work we put in over the summer, we have an opportunity to do some things,” he shared. “Our schedule has been ramped up due to that because we want to have some good competition. We want to play some different teams and go out and see where we’re at.”
The Bulldogs will be led by a pair of returning starters in junior Emma Driscoll and senior Kacie Picha, as well senior Cora Keehner and junior Sam Ruff, who both have significant varsity experience.
Picha, an all-conference honorable mention pick last year, will be a shooter and key defender for MFL MarMac, while Keehner will be a solid post presence, able to stretch the floor, guard and rebound.
“Honestly, this is the biggest size-wise for our post players that we’ve had in a number of years, so that’s exciting,” according to Bugenhagen.
The coach said Ruff has come on at the end of the summer and start of the season as both a defender and offensive threat. Driscoll, a second team all-conference selection a year ago, can play multiple positions.
“Even being undersized, she’s guarding some posts and able to handle the basketball for us. She does a really good job on the defensive end as well,” Bugenhagen mentioned. “It helps having a player that can guard multiple positions like Emma does.”
One player MFL MarMac will miss is junior Emme Wikner, the team’s leading scorer and a first team all-conference player, who will miss the season with a torn ACL.
“With Emme going down, that kind of changed our dynamics of how we were looking toward the season,” Bugenhagen acknowledged. “But to compliment her, she has been present, a leader. Obviously, she’s not going to be on the court, but she is here helping.”
Bugenhagen looks for playing time from junior Brynlee Fritz, returning from an injury that sidelined her last season, as well as from sophomores Evie Fritz and Ashtyn Dundee, who gained experience on the court as freshmen since the Bulldogs didn’t play a JV schedule.
Also expect to see multiple freshmen in varsity games, including Olivia Driscoll as starting point guard.
“She’s played a lot of basketball in her life, played high AAU basketball. Spent a lot of time in the gym to get to where she’s at. I see her potentially being a floor leader,” Bugenhagen said.
“Then Blair Winter,” he continued. “She’s very athletic and can do a lot of different things at her size—can defend, rebound, run the floor. Khloe Schutte, I potentially see her playing some minutes, and Brooklyn Landt has an opportunity to play some minutes.”
The freshman class, overall, is talented, athletic and energetic, noted Bugenhagen. They were undefeated at the middle school level and won the eighth grade state basketball tournament. He’s excited to see what they contribute.
“It’s just been exciting for us to see how well they’ve come in and participated over the summer. With having that younger group that’s had so much success, we played a lot over the summer to try to blend those kids in because of their basketball knowledge and skill sets,” he said.
Bugenhagen and fellow co-head coach Jess Schubert said the Bulldogs’ expanded numbers will allow them to play a full JV schedule this season. That equates to valuable experience.
“It’s going to be a lot of minutes these girls can have compared to last year. That’s going to be great,” stated Schubert.
“Also, the state changed the rule that you can play eight quarters in a night,” when it was previously six, added Bugenhagen. “I hope not to have a girl play eight quarters, but you never know.”
Along with that increased depth, MFL MarMac will bank on its speed and athleticism against opponents. As the season progresses, the team will work to refine its offense and defense, in hopes of challenging for the Upper Iowa Conference big division title.
While the addition of New Hampton, Waukon and Crestwood to the UIC changes the outlook a bit, Bugenhagen said a conference championship is still a major goal.
“We also want to make a state tournament run,” he said. “You’ve got to have that goal. Our expectations are always high. I feel like we wouldn’t be doing our kids a service if we didn’t have those expectations for them, and honestly, we just did goal sheets and on their own sheets, that’s something they want to see and want to do. They’ve put in a lot of work, so that’s exciting from a coaching standpoint.”
The Bulldogs opened regular season and Upper Iowa Conference play Nov. 25 with a 51-40 victory over Crestwood—their first victory over the Cadets since 2021 and just the second in the last decade. This week, MFL MarMac hosted Waukon on Dec. 2, then traveled to South Winneshiek Dec. 5.
