To say expectations were high for coach Stacy Kramer and her Fullerton girls basketball team is probably a little short of an understatement.
Her Warriors went 20-5 last season before losing in the first round of the Class D-1 tournament to Blue Hill, 61-46. But, everybody, literally, was back. Fullerton started four juniors and a sophomore.
“Expectations were high, that’s for sure,” Kramer said. “We thought last year we had the ability to get to Lincoln, but that if we wanted to advance, we had some things to work on.”
So, the Warriors went to work and find themselves off to a 16-1 start after winning the Goldenrod Conference tournament last week over Humphrey St. Francis. They also sit second in the Class D-1 wild card point standings.
The tests will continue this week in a finishing street that includes five of their last six games against opponents with winning record. It starts Thursday with once-ranked Class’s C-2 opponent Centura.
Kramer said moving up a class in opponent generally pays dividends down the road, especially at this point in the season. By the time the season is over, Fullerton will have played 10 Class C-1 or C-2 foes.
“We have a few opponents that are in a higher class and that helps, I think,” she said. “It’s a little more physical game. Centura will be a good test. They beat us by a point last year.”
Fullerton will play their final home game Friday against 7-4 Spalding Academy before playing their final four games on the road.
“These next two games will be a good test,” Kramer said. “We have to put together eight good quarters in a row.”
Fullerton has played plenty of good quarters so far this year, outscoring their opponents by an average score of 56.2-33.1 points per contest.
They have done it with balance and players knowing their role on the team. Three players – Halle Plumbtree, Macy Peregrine and Ashley Frenzen – all average just over 12 points per contest.
Kramer called Peregrine “our go-to player, who does just a little bit of everything.” She averages 12.6 points, 7.4 rebounds, 4.1 steals and 3.6 assists per game.
Plumbtree – at 6’3” – averages a double, double of 12.8 points and 10.2 rebounds. She also blocks 4.6 shots per game.
“You can’t really coach 6’3”,” Kramer said of Plumbtree. “She really developed over the summer and has stepped up her game.”
And, while Frenzen averages 12.5 points per game, her coach would like to shoot it even more. She’s a 63 percent 3-point shooter on the season and the Warriors have hit 42 percent as a team but have only attempted 88 shots from behind the arc.
“We knew one of the things we needed to do was become a better shooting team from the perimeter,” Kramer said.
Point guard Cheyenne Ostrander has “handles the ball well for us” while averaging 9.3 points and 3.3 assists per contest. She a big reason the coach said that Fullerton averages only 10 turnovers per contest, about half what they average a season ago.
Inside with Plumbtree is Spencer Herman who averages 3.8 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. Kramer called her an “unsung hero.”
“I talked to her the other day,” the coach said, “and I told her that I hope she realizes how important to this team. She has really played well for us recently and has been in double figures the last four games in rebounds.”
Like last year, the Warriors face a tough climb to state with fourth-ranked Howells-Dodge in their sub-district. The Jaguars have been ranked first most of the season, after advancing the semifinals last year, and right behind the Warriors at third in the point standings.
“We have talked about the opportunity to play them,” Kramer said. “They are the a great program. Our goal from the beginning of the season has been to compete with the best teams in our class.”
Let’s Rewind
Rankings | OWH Girls | OWH Boys | LJS Girls | LJS Boys |
Friend hoping to repeat 2014 D-1 title run- LJS Prep Extra
Wrestling results from 1/23- LJS Prep Extra
Timberwolves rally vs Mustangs in CRC- York News Times
