Familiar faces return to the court

Plenty of familiar faces will be making their return for Creston girls’ basketball this season, but it won’t be the same without one of the best players in program history.

Without the scoring and defensive abilities presented by Brielle Baker, who graduated in the spring and is now playing basketball for Southwestern Community College, the Panthers will take on one of the toughest conferences in southwest Iowa, the Hawkeye 10, with a new plan of attack on both ends of the floor.

“I’m excited,” said Creston head coach Tony Neubauer. “The Hawkeye 10 is tough. They had four teams at state in volleyball and those same schools are good in basketball with Glenwood, Denison-Schleswig, Lewis Central and Red Oak. It’s hard to replace Brielle, but we’ve got a lot (of players) back. ... It’s hard to compete in the Hawkeye 10 without talent or experience and I think we have both.”

In four years, Baker carved a historic path through Creston girls’ basketball, scoring a program record 1,189 points and tallying a career record 184 steals. She was second all-time in assists (198) and second in 3-pointers made (122).

The two-time first team all-Hawkeye 10 and 2019 second team all-state player not being in the lineup donning the No. 13 will be a big adjustment for the Panthers this season, but Neubauer feels his returning starters give Creston a chance to compete every night.

“We’re very unique this year. We’re young, but we’re experienced. We have four starters back, and we’ll miss Brielle. She did a lot of good things, but Kelsey (Fields) and Sam (Dunphy) are going into their third year starting and this is Sydney’s (Hartsock) second and a half year starting. I think we’ll be right in the mix,” said Neubauer.

The four returning starters for Creston include Fields and Dunphy, two forwards who combined for 402 rebounds last season (Fields 296 and Dunphy 106). Their ability to score is also reassuring to the Creston offense, with Fields posting a team leading 15.9 points per game (third best in the conference) and Dunphy chipping in 8.7 per game.

Perimeter scorer and point guard Hartsock will see her volume of attempts rise also. Her 3.9 points per game in 2018-19 came off 30.6% from 3-point range and will likely increase this season. As a regular in the lineup she assisted 62 scores, second most on the team, and had 27 steals. Braelyn Baker was another regular in the lineup for Creston, scoring 3.5 points per game with 48 boards, 47 assists and 29 steals.

With already a number of kids having meaningful court time under their belts, the Panthers will have no issue with belonging on the court and not being overwhelmed with varsity competition.

“Last year our biggest thing was that we felt like we didn’t belong sometimes,” said Neubauer. “We’d be down by six to Treynor (Class 2A champion), and you’d think we’re down by 50. Getting over that hump of knowing we’re a good basketball program and have a little bit of a chip on our shoulder where we can go give our best and see what happens. I think we’re getting there.”

Neubauer noted that having Brielle Baker on the team the year prior helped Kelsey Fields show her prowess and ability to score from inside. Without Brielle Baker, he feels teams may be more likely to double team Kelsey Fields inside. However, he thinks the personnel around her will be capable or picking up Kelsey in the instance where teams lock her down.

“Obviously I think teams will give Kelsey a little more attention,” said Neubauer on inside play. “... I think we’ll see a different focal point a little bit, but at the same time we have guards that are good enough that if you don’t pay attention they’ll hurt you. I would expect Kelsey to get more attention, but at the same time, I feel we’re good where they can collapse on her and make other people beat them.”

Freshmen from last year who will join the varsity club are Anna Mikkelsen, Gracie Hagle, Morgan Driskell, Halle Evans and Brianna Fields. Morgan Driskell and Brianna Fields saw limited time last season for varsity while Mikkelsen, Hagle and Evans did not register time on the floor. Also joining the program are seniors Emma Hanson and Teirstyn Murray.

With the season now days away, Neubauer is very optimistic in where this team will play its final game of the season.

“We still have a lot of good pieces to the puzzle,” said Neubauer. “I think we can compete and have a good season and compete and have a chance at the state tournament.”

Creston kicks off its season tomorrow (Friday) on the road against Des Moines Christian at 7:30 p.m.

Roster

Seniors – Sydney Hartsock (5-1), Heylee Shields (5-5), Teirstyn Murray (5-6), Emma Hanson (5-9).

Juniors – Sam Dunphy (6-0), Rylie Driskell (5-8), Braelyn Baker (5-0), Kelsey Fields (6-2).

Sophomores – Anna Mikkelsen (5-5), Morgan Driskell (5-11), Gracie Hagle (5-5), Halle Evans (5-5), Brianna Fields (5-11).

Freshmen – Doryn Paup (5-11), Madison Mills (n/a), Kiara Rodriguez (n/a).

Schedule

Nov. 22 – at Des Moines Christian, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 2 – vs. Winterset, 6 p.m.

Dec. 3 – at Atlantic, 6 p.m.

Dec. 10 – at St. Albert, 6 p.m.

Dec. 13 – vs. Atlantic, 6 p.m.

Dec. 17 – at Shenandoah, 6 p.m.

Dec. 20 – vs. Glenwood, 6 p.m.

Jan. 3 – vs. Clarinda, 6 p.m.

Jan. 6 – vs. Chariton, 6 p.m.

Jan. 10 – at Denison-Schleswig, 6 p.m.

Jan. 13 – at Red Oak, 6 p.m.

Jan. 14 – vs. Treynor, 6 p.m.

Jan. 17 – at Lewis Central, 6 p.m.

Jan. 20 – at Clarke, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 21 – vs. Shenandoah, 6 p.m.

Jan. 24 – at Kuemper Catholic, 6 p.m.

Jan. 28 – at Glenwood, 6 p.m.

Jan. 30 – at Martensdale-St. Marys, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 31 – v.s Harlan, 6 p.m.

Feb. 7 – vs. Red Oak, 6 p.m.

Feb. 10 – at Clarinda, 6 p.m.

Feb. 15-22 – Regionals, TBD