Stratford returns plenty of experience
By Casey Krautkramer
A trio of Stratford varsity girls basketball players scored 11 points apiece in Tuesday’s 43-28 home win against Wabeno/Laona. The Tigers have a 3-0 record to begin this season.
Tigers senior guard Laney Pankratz was efficient shooting the basketball against the Rebels by sinking all three of her three-point attempts and both of her free throws. Laney Pankratz and juniors Tria Tubbs and MaKayla Stueber paced the Tigers with 11 points. Junior Emily Zuelke added six points.
Stratford held off Marathon, 60-50, on Nov. 26 in a foul and turnover filled game at home. Sophomore guard Carly Pankratz led the Tigers with 18 points and three assists. She and Laney Pankratz tied for the team lead with four steals each. Senior guard Kayla Casperson contributed 15 points and two assists. Tubbs aded 11 points and she paced the Tigers with eight rebounds. Stueber contributed six points and six rebounds.
Stratford downed Merrill, 71-35, in its season-opener Nov. 19 on the road. Carly Pankratz led Stratford with 21 points and eight steals. Zuelke contributed 16 points and six rebounds. Tubbs added 10 points and she led the Tigers with nine rebounds. Junior Erika Frick contributed eight points and six rebounds.
Carly Pankratz is leading Stratford in scoring thus far this season by averaging 19.5 points per game. Casperson is second on the team with 11 points per game and Tubbs is third with 10-1/2 points per game. Tubbs leads the team in rebounding with 8-1/2 rebounds per game and Stueber is averaging four rebounds per game. Casperson and Stueber are both averaging two assists per game.
Stratford head coach Tammie Christopherson is in the midst of her 12th season at the helm. The Tigers finished last season with a 14-12 record.
The Tigers welcome back Tubbs who earned second team All-Marawood South Conference after averaging 8.3 points and eight rebounds per game. Carly Pankratz received honorable mention all-conference while averaging 8.2 points per game last season. Casperson was honorable mention all-conference while averaging 8.7 point per game last year.
Other top returning players are Zuelke who averaged 4.2 points and 4.2 rebounds per game last season, Laney Pankratz who averaged 3.6 points per game, Stueber who averaged 2.7 points per game, senior Kassedey Downey and senior Daisy Yoder who was sidelined with an injury last season.
“We graduated two senior so we are returning almost our entire team,” Christopherson said. “We are welcoming back Daisy Yoder who played varsity her sophomore year, but she missed last season with an ACL injury.”
Christopherson outlined her team’s expectations this season. “We have an experienced team this year with a good mix of guards and post players,” she said. “We have a tough conference as always and this team will be on the hunt for a conference championship. This group of young ladies work incredibly hard and they are feisty!”
She outlined the keys to her team’s success and the team’s strengths this season.
“We have a very diverse group of players and we will be able to score from the inside and outside,” Christopherson said. “All of our players had a great offseason and we have matured into a well balanced team. Keys to success this year are having consistency on the offensive and defensive ends and challenging ourselves to meet the demands of our tough schedule day in and day out. We also want to play an uptempo game and take advantage of our speed and size.”
STRATFORD VARSITY GIRLS BASKETBALL - Shown is the 2024-25 Tigers varsity girls basketball squad. Team members pictured, from left to right, front row are MyKayla Stueber, Laney Pankratz, Kayla Casperson, Carly Pankratz, Erika Frick and Abbi Lewerenz; back row: Assistant coaches Jeff Bell and Breanna Ackley and players Lucy Zaleski, Daisy Yoder, Emily Zuelke, Tria Tubbs, Kassedey Downey, Alyssa Bargender, head coach Tammie Christopherson and assistant coach Kathleen Wojcik.
PHOTO BY CASSIDY LEMAY
