Winamac girls basketball preview: Popejoy headlines Lady Warriors, but underclassmen could hold key to team success

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

The Winamac girls basketball team’s loss to Bremen in last year’s sectional final might have seemed like more than an end to a season but the ending of a chapter in Winamac girls basketball history.

Last year’s seniors started out 4-20 as freshmen in Tony Stesiak’s first season as coach but then went 47-27 over the next three years.

Their 19 wins last year were their most since the 2011-12 season.

Guard and RTC4 Girls Basketball Player of the Year Kandace Kroft graduated. Kroft finished in the top five in scoring in program history after averaging 18.8 points per game and finishing second in the state in 3-pointers made with 97.

So did Marissa Iverson, who averaged 11 points and 9 rebounds and who had seven double-doubles. 

Corinne Ulerick, a third starter who averaged 4.6 points and 6.9 rebounds per game, also graduated.

Left to maintain the success of their predecessors are returning senior starters Sadie Popejoy and Maggie Keller.

Popejoy averaged 13 points per game and scored in double figures 19 times last year. She also made 55 3-pointers.

“She’s the one that’s going to inbound the basketball now,” Stesiak said. “She’s going to be the lead guard, and her experience and her abilities are vital to the success of our team. The people who watched us and knew the game knew how important she was, but I also think she also flew under the radar because Kroft had such a good senior season. But if you look at her stats, on most stats, she’s ahead of Kroft going into their senior years, which is hard to believe. Now the big thing is Kroft had Popejoy. Popejoy doesn’t have a Kroft. So who becomes the second, third leading scorer? Where do we go? Because obviously, she’s probably going to be the other team’s first, second, third, fourth, fifth priority on the scouting report. So can she adjust to that?

“I’ve told her she’s not supposed to be Kandace Kroft. We just need the best Sadie Popejoy.”

Keller is known for her rugged defense.

“Basketball is not her primary sport,” Stesiak said. “Softball and then probably volleyball too. Basketball is three, which is OK. Of the 14 on the roster, they’re not just multi-sport athletes. I think 11 of them are three-sport athletes, which I like. But in her case, she’s just such a competitor. In basketball, it’s about team first. Her experience in all sports that she plays and the things she’s been to, it’s like what can I do to help the team? It’s been on the defensive end primarily so far, but she just wants to compete and win and be the best for her team that she can.”

Lluvia De La Cruz Garcia is a third senior in the program.

But what could be a determining factor if this team can be just as successful is if the sophomore class that got occasional minutes last year blossoms and if they can get production out of their freshmen.

Of the 14 girls in the program, 11 are either a freshman or a sophomore.

So who might step up?

“It’s always about player development individually,” Stesiak said of the significance of the offseason. “Having them work on their game. Just get better. Try different things. I always call the summer playing in the sandbox. I don’t expect it to be nice and tidy, but what do you want to work on? So we give them the space and the room and the opportunities to do that. … Those seniors meant a lot on and off the floor with their leadership examples and all those kinds of things. So definitely about new faces in new places. We have a lot of inexperienced players, and even our experienced players are adjusting to new roles.”

He calls the adjusting a “work in progress.”

“I think this group is fairly athletic,” Stesiak said. “They’re inexperienced, but I think there’s some potential. A lot of unknowns, but that’s what the season is for.”

At 5-7, sophomore Jordan Compton is what Stesiak calls a “hybrid forward-guard” and a “utility player” who can rebound, handle and shoot the ball.

“Her versatility will be big,” Stesiak said. “Jordan is going to mean a lot for us, for sure.”

Kylie Fisher is a guard who has “maybe the highest ceiling” of anybody on the team other than Popejoy.

“Basketball might be her third sport,” Stesiak said. “She’s got the biggest room for growth. If we can get where she has the confidence in her that I have in her, she’s going to be  a really, really good player. But because she doesn’t play as much basketball, she kind of struggles with that, but she’s got it, and like I said, she’s come a long way. She played some big minutes in the sectional for us last year. I think she’s an excellent defender. You talk about somebody who could take on that Maggie Keller role of guarding the other team’s best guard, Kylie can do it.”

Abby Keller is known for her shooting, but Stesiak has added that she has worked on her ability to drive to the basket.

“Physically, she’s probably the strongest,” Stesiak said. “You can tell the most in terms of physical development of her of any of the sophomores.”

Willa Byroad is a 5-7 sophomore post player who got limited varsity minutes last year. Stesiak said rebounding will be “her biggest asset.”

“She’s going to play a lot,” Stesiak said.

Alena Day is a 5-3 sophomore who can shoot and who will likely get a lot of JV minutes, according to Stesiak. Madyson Bishop, who had been homeschooled the last two years, is a 5-3 sophomore who is new to the program.

Freshmen in the program include Jillian Burns, Kinley Overmyer, Madison Jachim, Elli Despot and Gracelyn Rimpler.

“Despot and Rimpler have the size that we don’t have,” Stesiak said. “They’re good, solid post players. That’s where they would help us, especially when we would play against bigger teams. They’d give us some depth on the block.”

Jachim is a taller guard at 5-7.

“I think she’s come very far since her sixth grade (year) in that she’s a little bit longer length of a guard – 5-7, very athletic,” Stesiak said. “Another three-sporter. Played varsity volleyball a little bit. She’s probably the best ballhandler of that group and is just a really, really good athlete and is extremely coachable. I don’t know if I’ve seen a player in middle school come as far from sixth to eighth grade as she did.”

Burns is a wing player, according to Stesiak.

“Her athleticism is probably her biggest asset,” Stesiak said. “Not a lot of polish. Can handle it a little bit but not a great ballhandler. Can shoot it a little bit but not a great shooter. Works really hard. Has a great attitude. She’s the lead in the fall play. She’s a great singer. She’s gone to all-state choir. She’s such a well-rounded person. She always has a huge smile on her face. That’s what probably jumps out when people meet her. She probably has the biggest smile on the team, and that’s just kind of her disposition.”

Overmyer is a “strong, physical presence” at 5-5, according to Stesiak. Stesiak added that Overmyer compares to Karli Murphy, a 2014 Rochester grad whom Stesiak previously coached.

Lady Warrior notes

• Assistant coach Keaton Stesiak got married during the offseason. She is now Keaton Schultz.

• Winamac dropped the Kitchen Classic Tournament at Delphi and picked up a six-team tournament at Carroll (Flora) on Dec. 21-22. Winamac will play three games in two days. They will be in a pool with Carroll (Flora) and Western Boone.

• Ulerick and her father Cullen Ulerick will be co-coaches at the seventh and eighth grade levels.

Winamac girls basketball schedule

Nov. 3 – vs. Frontier, 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 7 – at South Central (Union Mills), 1:30 p.m.

Nov. 13 – vs. North White, 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 17 – at Culver, 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 20 – vs. Caston, 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 23 – vs. Hebron, 8 p.m.

Nov. 28 – vs. Rochester, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 1 – at West Central, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 5 – vs. Tri-County, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 10 – at Argos, 6 p.m.

Dec. 12 – vs. Logansport, 1:30 p.m.

Dec. 15 – at Tippecanoe Valley, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 19 – vs. Rensselaer, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 21-22 – Carroll (Flora) Tournament (field includes Carroll (Flora), Faith Christian, Western, Western Boone, University)

Jan. 5 – vs. Knox, 8 p.m.

Jan. 8 – vs. North Miami, 6:30 p.m.

Jan. 12 – vs. Triton, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 16 – at Oregon-Davis, 6 p.m.

Jan. 21 – at North Judson, 8 p.m.

Jan. 26 – at Pioneer, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 28 – vs. Twin Lakes, 7:30 p.m.

Feb. 2-6 – Class 2A, Sectional 34 at LaVille

Class 2A, Sectional 34

Bremen, Jimtown, Knox, LaVille, South Bend Career Academy, South Central (Union Mills), WINAMAC