Returning to the hardwood this season with a letter are (l-r) Sydney Thompson, Brooklyn Fromm, Claire Storhoff and Clara Hjelle. (Photo courtesy of Tami Bohr)
Athleticism combined with the ability to push the ball and run the floor are among the list of items new Head Decorah Girls Basketball Coach Blake Moen sees at the strength for the Vikings this season.
Moen, who takes over the helm from Shannon Quandahl who led the Vikes for eight seasons, will have four returning letter winners to rely on as the season rolls with a mix of athletes who had successful junior varsity games a year ago.
Looking back
With four seniors, three of them the letter winners, the Vikes were a work in progress.
It was matter of putting it all together during the regular season. Decorah had some ups and downs, finishing the conference portion of the slate second with an 8-2 NEIC record and 15-8 overall mark.
In the Class 4A regional quarterfinal, the Viking girls took care of Charles City 70-15. That placed Decorah into the regional semifinal against Western Dubuque. The Bobcats took care of business, defeating the Vikes 62-36.
Following the conclusion of the season, the Vikes graduated three seniors. First team All-NEIC Yazmeen Whitsitt led the way, scoring 551 points on the year and coming away with 64 steals to go 69 rebounds and 46 assists. Brynn Storhoff scored 99 points and led the Vikes with 120 boards, along with 47 assists and 22 steals. Also graduating was Brooke Anfinson.
Young and pesky
Decorah will return four players with letters. Among them is All-NEIC First Team honoree Claire Storhoff. During her freshman campaign, she provided 11.7 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. She was second in steals for the Vikes with 54 and contributed 88 rebounds and 32 assists.
Having played 11 games prior to an injury putting her on the bench, Brooklyn Fromm had racked up 107 points, an average of 9.7 per game. As a sophomore she also had 4.9 rebounds a night for a total of 54 (19 offensive, 35 defensive to go with 23 assists, 11 steals and seven blocks.
Sydney Thompson also saw big minutes on the floor, averaging 5.0 points and 3.8 rebounds a game, firing 30.3 percent from behind the arc. As a sophomore she contributed 16 steals and 14 assists as well.
Also back with a letter is junior Clara Hjelle who pulled down 30 boards to go with 19 points, nine steals and eight assists.
Others listed on the varsity roster looking to find a way to contribute are seniors Kera Walter and Ella Carlson; juniors Renae Wilson, Kelby Kerndt, Natalie Stevens and Deborah Hougen, along with sophomore Liz Bucksa.
“We have a lot of returning experience and new potential but it will take effort to get our timing down,” said coach Moen. “We will rely heavily on our junior and sophomore class , but I am excited for the season to see what this team can do.”
2024 projection
“We have been fortunate to have some excellent talent come through our program over the past few years, and it is now this group’s turn. The girls are hungry and have dedicated a lot of time for the season, and I am looking forward to putting that to the test and continuing to build with them,” added coach Moen.
The new coach foresees the Northeast Iowa Conference wide open for the taking, citing a well-coached Crestwood squad with a core group of returnees as the team to look out for.
Decorah opened their season at Dike-New Hartford on Nov. 26 and already has several other non-conference games under its belt as the Vikes get set to open the NEIC portion of their season at 6:45 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 13, at New Hampton.
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