Defense big in new conference

Moving to the new North Eastern Conference will have its challenges for the Oconto Falls girls basketball season. A season after going 7-9 in the larger Bay Conference, a shift to playing similar-sized schools will actually make the schedule more difficult. “The level of competition is better than in the past,” head coach Mike Kaczmarek said. “We go to a tougher girls basketball conference, no question about it.” After losing Elizabeth Manns and Kayla Virtues, who both played valuable minutes for the Panthers, Kaczmarek is unsure who is going to step up as a point-scorer against some stiff competition. Seniors Bailey Wolf, Jenny Krueger and Madison Helmle all finished last season with more than five points per game. “I don’t know where our points are going to come from right now,” Kaczmarek said. “We have to find somebody to score for us.” Wolf, a starting guard for the Panthers, sees Krueger, the tallest player on the roster, stepping up in the post to get the much-needed points. “She is the tallest down low, and I think if we can get the ball in to her, she’ll be a huge asset on offense for us,” Wolf said. The Panthers have been concentrating on tightening up defensively this season. One year ago, Oconto Falls gave up nearly 39 points per game while scoring 32.6 of its own. “I definitely think we have to work really hard on it, just because we lost (Manns and Virtues) from last year, but I definitely think the girls are willing to step up and take that initiative to be more aggressive,” Wolf said. An improved defense would be a huge help against the Panthers’ new opponents this season. Outside of the higher level of play, Wolf said the team does not know much about the majority of the teams in the North Eastern Conference. Kaczmarek, meanwhile, knows what Oconto Falls has to do to be successful on the year. “We’re going to have to show up and play every night. There are not off-nights intensity-wise,” Kaczmarek said. “I think the level of intense basketball is going to rise in this conference. Everybody is going to compete a heck of a lot harder.”