Go to link below for all 2017-18 FDL HS winter sports weekly schedule
http://www.foxvalleyassociation.org/public/genie/240/school/4/
Go to link below for 2017-18 FVA Girls Basketball schedule – scores – standings
http://www.fvasports.net/page/show/1251335-girls-basketball
2017-18 Girls Basketball Varsity Schedule
Score Record
79 – 39 1 – 0 @ New London
37 – 69 1 – 1 Home vs Kimberly
74 – 47 2 – 1 Home vs Kaukauna
60 – 66 2 – 2 @ Appleton North
53 – 67 2 – 3 Home vs Neenah
44 – 43 3 – 3 @ Oshkosh North
53 – 65 3 – 4 @ Hortonville
56 – 69 3 – 5 vs Laconia @ Oshkosh West Holiday Tournament
32 – 51 3 – 6 vs Arrowhead @ Oshkosh West Holiday Tournament
33 – 66 3 – 7 @ Seymour
47 – 56 3 – 8 @ Appleton West
48 – 38 4 – 8 @ Oshkosh West
33 – 53 4 – 9 @ Kaukauna
47 – 59 4 – 10 Home vs Appleton East
44 – 55 4 – 11 @ Neenah
55 – 40 5 – 11 Home vs Oshkosh North
38 – 50 5 – 12 @ Kimberly
47 – 55 5 – 13 Home vs Hortonville
47 – 73 5 – 14 Home vs Appleton North
28 – 33 5 – 15 Home vs Appleton West
52 – 47 6 – 15 Home vs Oshkosh West
34 – 55 6 – 16 @ Appleton East
53 – 65 6 – 17 WIAA Regional @ Germantown
Girls Varsity Basketball Roster
10 Sam Boettcher 11 5’05
11 Ana Mueller 12 5’05
12 Lauren Wendt 12 5’08
13 Emma Loewe 12 5’05
14 Megan Wendt 12 5’08
15 Brooke McDowell 11 5’07
20 Carly Paulson 11 5’06
21 Ally Gietzel 12 5’10
22 Emma Wiltzius 11 5’09
23 Shea-Lynn Gerred 11 5’05
24 Kali Smit 11 5’07
25 Joslyn Herbeck 10 5’05
30 Madison Dille 11 5’09
31 Emma Erickson 11 5’09
32 Breanna Miller 10 5’11
Head Coach: Jeff Bell
Varsity Assistant Coach: Jessica Ruch
Athletic Trainer: Ashlee Baer
Athletic Director: David Michalkiewicz
Principal: Matt Steinbarth
Appleton West 33
Fond du Lac 28
| 1 | 2 | T | |
| Appleton West | 7 | 26 | 33 |
| Fond du Lac | 10 | 18 | 28 |
Fond du Lac
| # | NAME | MIN | FG | FT | 3PT | REB | AST | TO | STL | BLK | PF | PTS |
| 12 | Lauren Wendt | – | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 5 |
| 14 | Megan Wendt | – | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 9 |
| 15 | Brooke McDowell | – | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 |
| 20 | Carly Paulson | – | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 |
| 25 | Joslyn Herbeck | – | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 8 |
| 30 | Madison Dille | – | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 4 |
| TOTALS | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 |
Appleton North 73 Fond du Lac 47
FOND DU LAC – Kari Brekke scored 20 points to lead the Lightning over the Cardinals.
Joslyn Herbeck paced Fond du Lac with 12 points.
Appleton North 39 34 – 73
Fond du Lac 22 25 – 47
Appleton North: Brekke 20, Sieg 8, Klitzke 4, Van Wyk 6, Laux 4, Prusinski 3, Van Handel 2, Schabo 7, Levy 19. 3-pt: Brekke 3, Sieg 2, Van Wyk, Laux, Prusinski, Levy. FT: 14-18. F: 14.
Fond du Lac: L. Wendt 4, Loewe 5, M. Wendt 11, Gerred 2, Smit 8, Herbeck 12, Dille 3, Erickson 2. 3-pt: Loewe, M. Wendt 2, Smit 2, Herbeck.
FT: 11-13. F: 14.
KIMBERLY 50 FOND DU LAC 38
KIMBERLY – Kimberly held Fond du Lac to 13 points in the first half on its way to a Fox Valley Association win.
Alina Hampton and Shea Dechant both scored 13 points for Kimberly.
Carly Paulson led Fond du Lac with 10 points.
Fond du Lac 13 25 – 38
Kimberly 18 32 – 50
Fond du Lac: L. Wendt 4, M. Wendt 5, Paulson 10, Gerred 2, Smit 6, Herbeck 7, Dille 4. 3-pt: M. Wendt, Paulson, Smit. FT: 13-17. F: 16.
Kimberly: Hampton 13, Smith 7, C. Pearson 5, Dechant 13, Murray 4, Schreiber 8. 3-pt: Hampton, Smith, Dechant 2. FT: 12-17. F: 14.
After torn ACL ended her season, Ally Gietzel focused on healing, future
Ally Gietzel stopped Strong start leads Oshkosh North past behind a couple of teammates sitting on the bench and started up a brief conversation. There may have been words of encouragement, advice for future on-court moments or a mixture of both. Gietzel was simply doing what every senior leader does. It’s just that the Fond du Lac senior was doing it from a wheelchair with her left leg safely extended and harnessed in a brace. Gietzel is recovering from surgery for a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee but remains as involved as she can be as she looks forward to her future return to the court and collegiate career at Illinois State.
“I had surgery about two weeks ago and basically started rehabbing right away,” Gietzel said prior to the Cardinals hosting Oshkosh North on Friday. “It’s going really well. The surgery went excellent and I’m getting my bending back already.”
Ally was injured Dec. 19 at Hortonville, when her left knee buckled without contact. Her surgery was performed by Dr. Pat McKenzie – the team physician for the Green Bay Packers – and now she begins the arduous journey to getting back on the court. She hopes to be ready when Illinois State opens the 2018-19 season in November. “That’s my goal and if I keep working hard, I can get there,” said Gietzel, who is doing rehab three times a day. “Dr. McKenzie said it was a realistic goal. He set me up to succeed and everyone has been great. The support has been awesome.”
Yet, watching from a wheelchair located in the bench area is not how the former player of the year in the Fox Valley Association envisioned her senior season. “It is tough, but everything happens for a reason,” said Gietzel, who watched the game alongside Emma Wiltzius, who also tore her ACL. “I’d love to be out there with my teammates, but I’m lucky enough that Coach (Jeff) Bell has let me become almost like an assistant coach so I can help out with what I see and communicate with my teammates. “Just do anything I can, without actually being out on the court with them.”
For now, Gietzel is simply focused on getting better and will look for the milestones that come with returning from injury. One thing for sure is that Gietzel will approach her rehab like a defender standing between her and the basket – she will attack it. “I’ll do everything I can to be back stronger,” Gietzel said. “It’s a learning process but it definitely has gotten me to appreciate basketball even more.”
Balanced Fond du Lac upends Oshkosh North 55 – 40
FOND DU LAC – A lot can happen in the span of one minute in basketball game. Fond du Lac went on an 8-0 run in the final minute of the first half against Oshkosh North on Friday night to seize momentum heading into intermission. The Cardinals then came out rolling in the second half and collected a 55-40 win over the Spartans in a Fox Valley Association girls basketball game inside the Fond du Lac fieldhouse.
“Usually we are not as positive coming into the half and the points gave us a big boost,” said Fond du Lac junior Carly Paulson. “We talked about staying focused and we kept it going the whole game. Paulson finished with 14 points and eight rebounds to lead four Cardinals in double figures in the win. Megan Wendt added 12 points, while Lauren Wendt and Joslyn Herbeck each finished with 10.
The balanced scoring helped make up for 21 turnovers committed by the Cardinals, however, Oshkosh North struggled to take advantage of the miscues. The Spartans had a rough night shooting the ball – especially right at the basket – finishing just 20 percent from the field overall, while making just 2-of-20 3-point attempts.
Despite the struggles, North held a 25-22 lead entering the final minute of the first half when Paulson knocked down a pair of free throws and Lauren Wendt converted a three-point play to boost Fond du Lac back into the lead.
But the biggest shot was yet to come for the Cardinals.
With time winding down, Herbeck drained a 3-pointer and Fond du Lac scooted off the court with a 30-25 halftime lead. “That was a great extra pass for Joslyn to hit that 3 at the buzzer. That was a huge momentum swing for us going into halftime,” Fond du Lac coach Jeff Bell said. “We had a stretch there where we got too individual and tried to do too much on our own and it showed so that was big to get that before halftime.”
The Cardinals followed it up by starting strong in the second half, as Megan Wendt, Paulson and Herbeck each hit baskets in a 7-0 run to start the half that pushed the lead to 12 and Fond du Lac held a double-digit lead the rest of the half.
One of the keys to keeping North at bay was the Cardinals improved handling of the Spartans’ defensive pressure. Fond du Lac not only limited their turnovers after halftime but was able to attack the full-court press to generate layups. “I think the communication was our biggest key (in the second half) and we all just worked together and it all came together for us,” Paulson said. “We were really working on pushing the ball to the middle, making sure someone was there at all times and I guess that really worked for us. Once we started getting it to the middle, we broke it every time.”
Fond du Lac was able to score enough that it prevented Oshkosh North from mounting any kind of a charge. The Spartans only scored on consecutive possessions with a defensive stop in between once in the second half and that came with less than four minutes to play.
The win snaps a three-game losing skid for Fond du Lac, which now turns its attention to a treacherous stretch of the schedule The Cardinals face the top three teams in the FVA – Kimberly, Hortonville and Appleton North – over the next three games but should carry a little more confidence into those games after Friday’s victory.
“We are seeing that multiple people on our team can score. We don’t have to go to one person and we can play solid team defense. That’s huge coming down the stretch,” Bell said. “I tell them not to worry about record and just focus on being the best team we can beat come tournament time. I think we took a step toward that.”
Oshkosh North 25 15 – 40
Fond du Lac 30 25 – 55
OSHKOSH NORTH: Brooke Ellestad 11, Brie Gauthier 13, Ashley Wissink 6, Alina Harmon 2, Saige Turner 6, Meghan Gruse 2. 3-pointers: 2 (Ellestad, Wissink). FTs: 12-14. Fouls: 23. Fouled out: Harmon.
FOND DU LAC: Lauren Wendt 10, Carly Paulson 13, Megan Wendt 12, Joslyn Herbeck 10, Madison Dille 5, Shea-Lynn Gerred 3, Kali Smit 2. 3-pointers: 4 (Herbeck 2, L. Wendt, Paulson). FTs: 13-19. Fouls: 16.
Neenah 55 Fond du Lac 44
NEENAH – Samara Sims finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds to spark a comeback win for the Rockets over Fox Valley Association foe Fond du Lac.
The Cardinals were led by Lauren Wendt, who finished with 10 points.
Fond du Lac 20 24 – 44
Neenah 18 37 – 55
Fond du Lac: L. Wendt 10, M. Wendt 8, Paulson 7, Smit 8, Herbeck 9, Dille 2. 3-pt: L. Wendt, M. Wendt 2, Paulson, Smit 2, Herbeck. FT:11-19. F: 14.
Neenah: Schroder 1, Jackson 4, Obry 10, Lee 12, Schmid 11, Grothenhuis 2, Sims 15. 3-pt: None. FT: 21-31. F: 18
Appleton East 59 Fond du Lac 47
FOND DU LAC – Appleton East scored the first eight points of the game and cruised to the victory. Lexie Schneider scored 11 of her game-high 21 points in the first half for East, which led 29-15 at halftime.
Fond du Lac was led by Madison Dille with 12 points and Joslyn Herbeck with 10.
Appleton East 29 30 – 59
Fond du Lac 15 32 – 47
Appleton East: Roberts 1, Schneider 21, Olmsted 4, K. Jazdzewski 2, Borowski 2, Van Gompel 2, Miller 2, Clark 9, VanHooreweghe 2, Neubauer 8, King 4, B. Jazdzewski 2. 3-pt: Clark 3. FT: 8-21. F: 17.
Fond du Lac: L. Wendt 7, Loewe 3, M. Wendt 2, McDowell 2, Paulson 3, Gerred 5, Herbeck 10, Dille 12, Erickson 3. 3-pt: L. Wendt, Herbeck, Erickson. FT: 8-10. F: 18.
KAUKAUNA 53 FOND DU LAC 33
KAUKAUNA – The Ghosts outscored the Cardinals 30-17 in the first half to roll to the win.
Lauren Wendt paced Fond du Lac with 11 points.
Fond du Lac 17 16 – 33
Kaukauna 30 23 – 53
Fond du Lac: L. Wendt 11, Loewe 3, M. Wendt 2, McDowell 1, Paulson 4, Gerred 4, Smit 3, Herbeck 5. 3-pt: L. Wendt 2, Loewe, Smit. FT: 10-16. F: 7.
Kaukauna: Ebben 5, C. Rodriguez 5, Hartjes 2, McCabe 12, S. Rodriguez 3, Verhasselt 8, Albrecht 4, Djupstrom 2, Schumacher 1, Van Zeeland 5, Engmann 4, Torrey 2. 3-pt: Ebben, C. Rodriguez, McCabe 2, S. Rodriguez. FT: 4-5. F: 19.
Fond du Lac 48 Oshkosh West 38
OSHKOSH – The Cardinals outscored the Wildcats 30-17 in the second half to grab the win after trailing by three points at halftime.
Madison Dille led Fond du Lac with 12 points.
Fond du Lac 18 30 – 48
Oshkosh West 21 17 – 38
Fond du Lac: Dille 12, M. Wendt 11, Smit 5, Gerred 5, Herbeck 5, Paulson 3, McDowell 3, L. Wendt 2, Loewe 2. 3-pt: M. Wendt 2, Smit, Gerred, Herbeck, McDowell. FT: 10-14. F: 9.
Oshkosh West: Kaminski 13, Rochon-Baker 9, Fontaine 6, Davis 5, McNulty 4, Hammonds 1. 3-pt: Kaminski. FT: 5-8. F: 13.
APPLETON WEST 56, FOND DU LAC 47
APPLETON – The Terrors profited at the free throw line, where they outscored the Cardinals 21-2. Christy Fortune led the Terrors with 17 points. She made four 3-point baskets. Sydney Gehl backed her up with 12 points and 10 rebounds. “I thought we were playing very good defense,” Terrors coach Jim Brown said. “Fondy just shot the lights out. The girls did a nice job down the stretch to seal the win.”
Fond du Lac, which had more 3-point baskets (nine) than two-pointers (seven), was led by Carly Paulson’s 11 points.
Fond du Lac 16 31 – 47
Appleton West 24 32 – 56
Fond du Lac: L. Wendt 2, M. Wendt 8, Paulson 11, Loewe 10, Smit 8, Herbech 8. 3-pt: Loewe 2, M. Wendt 2, Paulson, Smit 2, Herbech 2. FT: 2-4. F: 19.
Appleton West: Vantassel 6, Winstad 6, Pauling 2, Smith 4, Fortune 17, Gehl 12, Lietzke 5, Lauterbach 4. 3-pt: Vantassel, Fortune 4. FT: 21-29. F: 11.
HORTONVILLE 65, FOND DU LAC 53
Fond du Lac was led by Ally Gietzel with a game-high 25 points.
Macy McGlone and Shay Frederick combined for 41 points to carry the Polar Bears to a victory over the Cardinals.
Fond du Lac 31 22 – 53
Hortonville 28 37 – 65
Fond du Lac: L. Wendt 6, M. Wendt 2, Paulson 13, Gietzel 25, Smit 2, Dille 5. 3-pt: Paulsen 2, Gietzel. FT: 11-18. F: 13.
Fondy girls hold off Oshkosh North behind Gietzel’s 17 points, key free throws by Wendt
OSHKOSH – 
It was all about the mindset for Fond du Lac’s Megan Wendt.
When the senior stepped to the free-throw line in a tie game and 15 seconds left in regulation – the first time she had been in such a situation – her mind didn’t wander to the pressure of the situation, the loud home crowd at the other end of the gym or what was likely to be a hoop that wouldn’t stop shrinking. “I was having positive thoughts going through my mind and I think that’s what helped me,” Wendt said. “I had confidence with my teammates pushing behind me the whole way.” Wendt knocked down both free-throw attempts for what proved to be the winning margin as the Cardinals fended off Oshkosh North, 44-43, in a Fox Valley Association girls basketball game on Friday night. Wendt finished 4-of-4 at the free-throw line, but it was her last two shots that made the biggest difference.
Oshkosh North had rattled off nine straight points to tie the score at 42 when a patient Cardinal possession led to Wendt drawing the foul.
“We spend a lot of time working on free throws (being) tired. Just to get used to those tired legs, taking our time and we know how valuable those are,” Fond du Lac coach Jeff Bell said. “We’ve talked about how we have to go in there and have fun and when you go with that mentality you can relax a little bit at the line and not put a lot of pressure on yourself and she did a real good job of that tonight.”
Ally Gietzel overcame a chilly start to finish with 17 points to lead the Cardinals – the lone Fond du Lac player to reach double figures. She scored six points in a key 9-0 run in the first half that put Fond du Lac ahead to stay, while adding five straight points to give the Cardinals a 42-33 lead in the second half with 3:29 to play. “I think it took me awhile. My teammates did everything they could to get me the ball and set me up for good opportunities,” Gietzel said. “We’re always pushing defense in practice, that’s the main thing. There will be some nights when our shots aren’t falling but we can always rely on our defense. That’s kind of what happened tonight.”
The nine-point advantage was the largest of the game for the Cardinals, but North quickly countered.
Ashley Wissink hit one of two free throws and then drained her second 3-pointer of the game. The senior, who scored more than half of North’s points as she finished with 23, then set up Emma Leib for a 3-pointer that cut Fond du Lac’s lead to 42-40 with 1:40 to play. “Ashley’s definitely the kid we’re going to right now. She’s got that string willpower,” North coach Jayme Engen said. “She’s put in an incredible amount of time and the results are showing on the court.” Brie Gauthier followed with two free throws with 51 seconds left to tie the game before Wendt’s free throws helped seal the win. Alina Harmon made a free throw with three seconds left for North to narrow the gap, but the Spartans wouldn’t get the ball again.
“Any win in this conference is big and hopefully it will start us off,” Gietzel said. “We have a game Tuesday in Hortonville and hopefully we can keep going there.” Bell said one of the things that helped his team tonight was the way the Cardinals approached practice this week. The coach had his players focus less on the actual Xs and Os of the game plan and more on simply going out and competing on the court. “Everything this week in practice was competition, competition. We just needed to compete and that’s what we did tonight,” Bell said. “Every possession seemed to matter and we just really wanted it more than I felt like in the last game.”
Wendt, who led the team with nine rebounds, agreed. “We’ve had tough practices this whole week and it’s all been about competition,” Wendt said. “I think that gave us the motivation to keep pushing and want to win.”
The Cardinals finished an impressive 16-of-21 at the free-throw line in the game, which helped overcoming the 27 turnovers forced by Oshkosh North.
Fond du Lac 20 24 – 44
Oshkosh North 16 27 – 43
FOND DU LAC: Kali Smit 6, Madison Dille 3, Megan Wendt 4, Ally Gietzel 17, Carly Paulson 3, Brooke McDowell 1, Emma Wiltzius 2, Joslyn Herbeck 6, Lauren Wendt 2. 3-pointers: 5 (Smit 2, Paulson, Gietzel, Herbeck). FTs: 16-21. Fouls: 22. Fouled out: Smit.
OSHKOSH NORTH: Ashley Wissink 23, Alina Harmon 3, Brie Gauthier 9, Brooke Ellestad 5, Emma Leib 3. 3-pointers: 3 (Wissink 2, Leib). FTs: 12-25. Fouls: 23. Fouled out: Ellestad, Griffin.
Neenah 67 Fond du Lac 53
The Rockets pulled away in the second half to secure the victory over the Cardinals. Leading the charge for Neenah was Samara Sims with 20 points and Megan Lee with 18.
Carly Paulson scored a game-high 21 points to pace Fond du Lac
Top of Form
Bottom of Form
Neenah 36 31 – 67
Fond du Lac 22 31 – 53
Neenah: Obry 9, Lee 18, Schmid 5, Grothenhuis 4, VanderMause 9, Ebel 2, Sims 20. 3-pt: Obry, VanderMause. FT: 13-23. F: 14.
Fond du Lac: L. Wendt 5, M. Wendt 7, Paulsen 21, Gietzel 8, Gerred 3, Smit 3, Herbeck 6. 3-pt: L. Wendt, M. Wendt, Paulsen 3, Gietzel, Gerred, Smit, Herbeck 2.
FT: 13-16. F: 13.
Appleton North 66 Fond du Lac 60
The Lightning cruised to a home victory over conference foe Fond du Lac behind the hot shooting duo of Paige Schabo with 20 points and Sydney Levy with 15.
Ally Gietzel scored 17 points to lead Fond du Lac.
Fond du Lac 27 33 – 60
Appleton North 38 28 – 66
Fond du Lac: L. Wendt 7, M. Wendt 13, Paulson 10, Gietzel 17, Smit 6, Herbeck 3, Miller 4. 3-pt: Smit 2, Gietzel 2, Paulson 2, M. Wendt 2, L. Wendt, Herbeck. FT:14-18. F: 18.
Appleton North: Schabo 20, Levy 15, Laux 10, Brekke 8, Van Wyk 5, VanHandel 4, Klitzke 2, Erickson 2. 3-pt: Levy, Laux 2, Brekke. FT: 14-19. F:20.
Fond du Lac 74 Kaukauna 47
Ally Gietzel scored 26 points to lead the Cardinals over the Ghosts.
Bre Verhasselt paced Kaukauna with 10 points.
Kaukauna 21 26 – 47
Fond du Lac 43 31 – 74
Fond du Lac: Boettcher 1, L. Wendt 6, Loewe 5, M. Wendt 2, McDowell 4, Paulson 8, Gietzel 26, Gerred 3, Smit 10, Herbeck 9. Totals 27 8-15 74. Three-pointers: L. Wendt 2, Loewe, Paulson 2, Gietzel, Gerred, Smit 2, Herbeck 3. Fouls: 20.
Kaukauna: Buchinger 4, Ebben 6, C. Rodriguez 6, Hartjes 4, McCabe 5, S. Rodriguez 4, Verhasselt 10, Djupstrom 1, Van Zeeland 5, Torre 2. Totals 13 18-26 47. Three-pointers: McCabe, Verhasselt 2. Fouls: 16
KIMBERLY 69 FOND DU LAC 37
FOND DU LAC – The Papermakers scored 40 points in the second half to seal the win over the Cardinals, after leading by 13 points at halftime.
Maddy Schreiber led Kimberly with 15 points.
Ally Gietzel paced Fond du Lac with nine points.
Kimberly 29 40 – 69
Fond du Lac 16 21 – 37
Kimberly: Hampton 8, Smith 8, Hietpas 6, Pearson 8, Karch 6, Sikora 5, Dechant 8, Murry 2, Ceranski 3, Schreiber 15. Totals 28 10-20 69. Three-pointers: Hietpas, Sikora, Schreiber. Fouls: 14.
Fond du Lac: Wendt 6, Loewe 2, Paulson 6, Gietzel 9, Smit 8, Herbeck 6. Totals 11 7-12 37. Three-pointers: Wendt 2, Paulson 2, Smit 2, Herbeck 2. Fouls: 19.
FOND DU LAC 79, NEW LONDON 39
NEW LONDON – The Cardinals’ Allie Gietzel scored 18 of her 31 points in the first half when Fond du Lac pulled away from the Bulldogs.
Joslyn Herbeck added 17 points for the Cardinals.
Fond du Lac 47 32 – 79
New London 25 14 – 39
Fond du Lac: L.Wendt 7, M.Wendt 4, Paulson 10, Gietzel 31, Smit 4, Herbeck 17, Miller 6. Totals 30 10-13 79. Three-pointers: L. Wendt, Paulson, Gietzel 4, Herbeck 3. Fouls: 17.
New London: Christian 13, Pankow 3, Besaw 3, Herter 6, Iverson 3, Henderson 11. Totals 14 9-16 39. Three-pointers: Besaw, Iverson. Fouls: 10
PRESEASON OUTLOOK
Ally Gietzel, Fond du Lac: Gietzel is a two-time first-team all-Fox Valley Association pick who has led the conference in scoring in each of the past two seasons.
She averaged 19.8 points per game last season in leading the Cardinals to a 10-8 record in a league that featured a pair of teams that qualified for the WIAA state tournament. She averaged 17.7 points as a sophomore.
The Illinois State recruit led the team last year in 3-pointers with 33 and made a whopping 121-of-147 free-throw attempts (82 percent), while also averaging 6.1 rebounds.
She picked up right where she left off last season, finishing with 31 points and seven rebounds in a season-opening win over New London.
“She brings a calmness to the rest of the team because she has that experience. There’s that sense of we’re OK because she’s there, that leadership,” Fond du Lac coach Jeff Bell. “Just knowing that she has put in the work and the time has had affected the work ethic of the other girls, too.”
Fond du Lac: The Cardinals have to replace a pair of all-conference players from last year’s squad, which finished fifth in the talent-rich Fox Valley Association.
Fond du Lac has a big piece of its puzzle returning in Gietzel, who will likely be the focal point of the Cardinal offense.
The Cardinals also return starters Carly Paulson, Megan Wendt and Lauren Wendt and will look to varsity newcomers Joslyn Herbeck — who scored 17 points in the season-opener — and Kali Smit for key contributions.
“We have to be aggressive and reach our tempo. We want to push the tempo and have a high pace,” Fond du Lac head coach Jeff Bell said. “We want to rush other teams. We’re small but we’re fast and want to force teams into error.”