By Josh Staloch
Correspondent
GREEN BAY – The 2019-20 Green Bay N.E.W. Lutheran girls’ basketball team will have a different look compared to last season.
The Blazers are coming off a 9-15 overall record and a 5-11 mark in the Packerland Conference.
Its conference record slotted N.E.W into the seventh position in the nine-team Packerland.
After the team won it’s first WIAA Division 5 regional game over Stockbridge last spring, the Blazers saw their season come to an end in the regional finals with a loss to Hustisford.
N.E.W. dealt with several injuries in key positions a season ago.
Junior point guard Bailey Scholz is back in the lineup after missing most of last year with a knee injury.
Stephanie Frappy, also a junior perimeter player, has been sidelined since December of her freshman year from a left knee injury.
The Blazers have nine players on the current basketball roster who played on the volleyball team, which only recently wrapped up its season in the sectional finals.
“We’re working on getting our basketball legs,” said head coach Nicole Natzke. “From what I’ve seen, we’re going to have success in the post running plays in the paint. I like what I’m seeing in our guard play. Josie Nelson [a 5-foot-8 junior] is going to be shooting the ball a lot for us. Bailey is back at point guard – she knows how to get inside on any defense.”
Nelson was the second-leading scorer last year with her 8.9 points per game.
The Blazers will rely on some younger talent to improve its win total from a year ago.
Leah Schmidt is only a sophomore, but she played for Natzke as a freshman, splitting time between the varsity and junior varsity teams.
She will be counted on to make an impact on the boards.
N.E.W. has two seniors on the roster: 5-foot-11 Lydia Nelson and 5-foot-10 Ashton Macklem.
Nelson, who will give the Blazers an inside presence, is a good ball-handler and has been playing varsity since her freshman year – the season N.E.W. advanced to the sectional finals.
She averaged 7.9 points and 7.3 rebounds per game in her junior season.
Macklem, who adds depth to the Blazers’ inside game, will look to improve on her 2.2 points and 1.7 rebounds per contest.
“I don’t think the competition is going to know what this group has,” Natzke said. “Nobody has seen Steph Frappy play and Bailey Scholz is going to be a problem for them, too. We won’t mind being sleepers. We’ll go in quietly, but we’ll make some noise. We’re going to have our battles, and we’ll have times when we’re down. When it comes to tournaments and the postseason, we will rise to it because we’re competing in a tough conference every night.”
N.E.W.’s leading scorer, Afton Wenger, graduated after averaging 13.2 points and 4.2 rebounds a game.
The Blazers also lost Grace Scholz (5.6) and Abbey Czaja (7.7 ppg/5.4 rpg) to graduation.
Green Bay N.E.W. Lutheran girls’ basketball schedule
11/22 – Sheboygan Christian
11/26 – Oneida Nation
12/3 – @ Southern Door
12/6 – Sturgeon Bay
12/10 – @ Hilbert – 7:15 p.m.
12/12 – @ Algoma
12/17 – Gibraltar
12/19 – Kewaunee
12/30 – @ Crivitz
1/4 – Three Lakes – 3:30 p.m.
1/10 – Oconto
1/14 – @ Peshtigo
1/18 – Sevastopol
1/23 – Southern Door
1/27 – @ Sturgeon Bay
1/31 – Algoma
2/4 – @ Gibraltar
2/6 – Bowler
2/10 – @ Kewaunee
2/14 – @ Oconto
2/17 – Peshtigo
2/20 – @ Sevastopol
Editor’s note: All games begin at 7:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted.