Leadership will set the tone for the Warriors

RRMR GIRLS BASKETBALL

Leadership will set the tone for the Warriors

Goals set, Warriors seek another state tournament bid

There’s a buzz in the air in Rockford. It’s not the humming of overhead lights or a grain elevator in the far distance. It’s the tune of the community talking about the girls’ basketball team.

But it hasn’t always been that way, said head coach Blake Hansen.

“Before, it was hard to get anybody in the stands,” Hansen said. “And that kind of got the girls down. But you had to look at what we were doing. Could you blame them? But now there’s an excitement in this town.”

Every year, the Warriors set out to accomplish three goals: 1. Earn a winning record. The Warriors have earned back-to-back 17-win seasons, solidifying that goal previously.

2. Make it to the state tournament.

3. Win the conference title.

With the new Top of Iowa Conference in full swing, the Warriors will have stiff competition if they want to solidify that final goal.

Last year, the Warriors posted a 17-5 record, exiting the state tournament with a four-point loss to Northwood-Kensett.

That loss ended a nine-game win streak for the Warriors, and Hansen said his teams always seem to get hung up on the Vikings come state tournament time.

But this year should be different. With nine players who have all played together since fourth-grade, Hansen said a more liberal play calling will allow his team to sculpt this season to what they want it to be.

“A lot of coaches want to know every play, what is going to happen, who’s getting the ball,” Hansen said. “But I trust my girls. I give them a lot of freedom. We only have one goal, and that’s to score. It doesn’t necessarily matter how, as long as we score.”

Returning players like Mackenzie Rooney, Fallon Marth, Theresa Jones and Emma Staudt will help form a chemistry early in the season that some teams struggle to find until late in the year.

“As long as they don’t get too down on themselves when the tough things happen, we should be very hard to beat this year,” Hansen said.

By Stephen Koenigsfeld sports@charlescitypress.com