Greyhounds to rely on speed, defense

By BOB VARMETTE

Journal Sports Writer

NEW ULM -- Things may seem very similar for the New Ulm Greyhounds as they begin the 2000-2001 girls basketball season. Without much height, the Greyhounds will again be a team that lives or dies with quickness and defense.

There are differences, though. Cathedral lost three starters among the six seniors that graduated. But the five letterwinners back are returning to a system they already know.

This is a season for refinement.

"We're pretty similar," said Cathedral coach Mary Dengerud. "I think we're starting a little ahead of the game this time because now they know the offenses. We're not going to be so far behind.

"From the first day of practice I told them, 'You guys know this stuff, now you have to put the fine touches on it.'"

The two starters returning for the Greyhounds (15-10 in 1999-2000) are point guard Kristin Beranek and wing Cathy Boettger. Beranek is the Greyhounds' top returning scorer, averaging 9.0 points per game; Boettger averaged 6.5 points per contest last season and is the team's leading returning rebounder at 3.9 per game.

"Hopefully, we'll do a lot of scoring on the fast break this year," Boettger said. "We've worked a lot on that. ... We're going to be quicker. That's our main thing."

According to Dengerud, Cathedral figures to be quicker across the board. The Greyhounds have brought up two sophomores and two freshmen, all quick. Cathedral will even have speed at forward and post this season, she added.

Depth is one of the main concerns for the Greyhounds. Dengerud calls her starting five as good as any in the area, but with a game that will be heavily reliant upon transition, Cathedral will need to integrate its reserves into the system.

That may mean some early-season struggles as the reserves learn.

"Once they learn the system and they learn the plays, we should be very tough by the end of the year," Dengerud said.

In addition to Beranek and Boettger, Dengerud will start Liesl Genelin at the other wing, 5-foot-7 senior Tessa Hodapp at forward and 6-foot senior Mary Sue Miheve at post when the Greyhounds travel to Comfrey tonight for their season opener. Miheve saw limited action last season, averaging 1.3 points per game. Hodapp was a part-time starter and scored 3.4 points per game.

Also expected to contribute are reserves Jessica Lewis, Shelly Waibel, Katie Gieseke, and freshmen Nikki Fischer and Julie Seifert.

"That's going to be our problem -- our depth." Dengerud said. "Once our depth is going, we'll be OK, but it's going to take a while."

But it hasn't dampened the Greyhounds optimism -- expectations are high. The Greyhounds expect to be playing their best basketball as they head into the postseason.

"We're going to take it one game at a time," Hodapp, a co-captain along with Boettger, said. "We're going to play every game to win and I think definitely we're going to be competitive."

Dengerud is pleased with the Greyhounds' progress thus far.

"The things that need work are fixable," she said. "It's not the things you go into a season and say, 'Boy, do we have a lot of work on our hands.' We do have work on our hands and we will work every single night, but the stuff that needs to be perfected, that needs to be polished, are things we can do."