The Kimball girls’ basketball team held their annual banquet Sunday afternoon, April 13, at the Pizza Ranch in Waite Park.
Team awards were first on the agenda as the varsity team celebrated five-game and four-game winning streaks at different points in the season. The team led the conference in three-point shooting percentage, three-point makes, and team assists. The team was second in the conference in team defense, allowing 46.5 points per game, and second in overall shooting percentage. The team set season records for three-point attempts (661) and three-point makes (199), three-point attempts in one game (46 vs. Spectrum), and three-point makes in one game (15 vs. Maple Lake). The team was also recognized for being on the All-State Academic Silver team with a 3.66 team GPA.
Individual awards were also acknowledged, as letterwinners were Macy Hilsgen, Holly Truenow, Mazie Jurek, Hope Kuechle, Lily VonWahlde, Claire Maus, Claire Hemmesch, Brooklyn Molitor, Ella Johnson, Jaelyn Major, Isabelle Schmitz, Lexi Schindele, Samantha Winter, Jordyn Theis, Brooke Pelzer, and Kiley Schindele. Team manager letterwinners were Nora Carlson and Brooke Gassler. Academic All-Conference honors went to Nora Carlson, Mazie Jurek, Brooke Pelzer, Brooke Gassler, Hope Kuechle, Isabelle Schmitz, Macy Hilsgen, Claire Maus, Jordyn Theis, Ella Johnson, Brooklyn Molitor, Lily VonWahlde, and Samantha Winter. Academic All-State honors went to Jordyn Theis and Samantha Winter.
Team leader awards were as follows: Scoring – Mazie Jurek (358 points), Steals – Hope Kuechle (114), Rebounding – Mazie Jurek (256), Highest Free Throw Percentage – Hope Kuechle (65.4 percent), Assists – Hope Kuechle (189), Annie Oakley Sharpshooter Award for most three-point makes – Lily VonWahlde (65), Highest Three-Point Percentage – Hope Kuechle (35.9%), Hustle Award – Holly Truenow, Spirit Award – Isabelle Schmitz, and Most Improved – Jordyn Theis.
New season records went to Hope Kuechle for 189 assists in a single season, and Hope also tied the record for assists in one game with 13 versus Paynesville. Jordyn Theis was selected to the All-Section 6AA team, Isabelle Schmitz was selected to Second Team All-Conference, and Mazie Jurek and Hope Kuechle were selected as First Team All-Conference.
The varsity team finished the season with a 15-12 overall record and 8-6 in the Central Minnesota Conference.
This team was really a lot of fun to coach all year long, they played hard, had a desire to improve, and played great unselfish offense while bringing solid defensive pressure. It seemed like we could beat anybody on any given night and we had some amazing performances throughout the season which made for a lot of fun and many highlight reel moments. This great group of kids have a lot to be proud of!